Sticks and Stones
by MrsAlishaLee
Summary: She was a jōnin, renowned student to Tsunade, second-in-command at the hospital. She could level fields with her fist and bring a ninja back from near death. So why did everyone still call Sakura weak and useless? She simply could not escape the torment and hatred. Maybe it was time to join Anbu... She would show them all; Haruno Sakura was NOT weak. Eventual Kaka/Saku
1. Chapter 1

Wooooo~ I'm back! My first fanfic I've written in many years. I've honestly abandoned the other two stories due to a lack of interest, and simply because I was young when I wrote them. I'm old now (I'm 26, but still...) My tastes have changed, my vocabulary/writing skills are infinitely better, I've matured. You all know how it is hahaha

This is written during the span between Pein's assault and the fourth shinobi war. There really isn't a good timeline, so we will say that there is like a year and a half between the two, and this is about 6 months after Pein's assault.

I threw Sasuke back into the village after the assault instead of the war. He's just there for story line's sake, really…

This shit isn't exact, so please don't go nutty on me and tell me I got things wrong. There will be plenty of that. I'm not trying to make this a perfectly placed story that goes true to the anime. I'm just writing a GD fanfiction! I actually have not watched the Anime in a long while, so a lot of my little facts are either memory or google searches!

Please enjoy!

* * *

The silence that enveloped the village in the early hours of the morning was a sound that far exceeded anything else. It was the sound of peace; something the beautiful Konohagakure went through literal hell to achieve.

The attack by Pein had come and gone, and the village was finally on its way to being re-built. The destruction had been unimaginable, but life always finds a way. The resolve and love of the civilian villagers and ninja alike began the process of bringing the beloved Konoha back from the ashes ten-fold.

There was still a long way to go before it was restored to its magnificent glory, but there wasn't an idle hand to be seen; the Hokage made damned sure of that. It would not be more than a few months before the whole of Konoha was rebuilt.

Brilliant rays of sunlight were only just beginning to filter through the forest when Haruno Sakura, a young pink-haired jōnin medic, found herself sitting comfortably atop a large branch with a mug of hot tea in one hand and a delicious blueberry muffin in the other.

She wasn't one to have such a treat for breakfast – Ino said she was fat; but today was as good a cheat day as any.

Sakura's emerald green eyes gazed out over what small bit of the village she could see as she sipped on her tea tranquilly. She didn't get very many moments like this, so she was savoring every second of her peace.

The jōnin planned on approaching the Hokage later that day about joining Anbu ranks and she knew with one-hundred percent certainty that it was going to go horribly. Anything she could do now to keep her anger at bay would make for an infinitely smoother meeting with her Hokage.

He was very good at getting under her skin. It was just a trait the man was born with, she surmised.

She wanted to put her legendary medic skills and monstrous strength to better use. With the assault over, the hospital was relatively quiet aside from the usual ailments and mission injuries.

Sakura felt she was too young and too skilled to settle in to the day-to-day hospital life; not that anyone would agree with that statement.

The young woman let out a breathy sigh and bit into her muffin, relishing its delicious flavor.

After everything she sacrificed to get where she was, and the integral part she played in ending the war, no one put their faith in her. To them, she was still the same weak, pathetic pink-haired girl from the academy…

Sure, she had Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, Hinata, Lee, Sai… They all had their endless faith and support in her, which Sakura clung to like a security blanket when times got rough. She loved them all so dearly.

It truly hurt the young woman that so many of her fellow ninja disliked her and found her to be useless, weak or ugly.

Sakura knew she had a large forehead. That had always been her biggest insecurity, aside from starting out at the academy as a very weak girl from the civilian side of the village. The purple diamond that centered her forehead certainly accentuated its size, but Sakura thought it only made her appear stronger, like her teacher.

She heard 'ugly', 'weak', 'useless', 'stupid', 'fake' on a daily basis, so it was hard for Sakura to put on a good face and feel great about herself. She never felt attractive, so she never tried to look it.

Her pink hair was once again long, but it was always up in a pony tail or twisted into a braid down her back as she worked her endless hours at the hospital. It felt good to be back into her jōnin vest instead of hiding inside a long doctor's coat.

Sakura had a black, long sleeved shirt on beneath her open vest with a mesh v-front that better accentuated her decent bosom, a skin-tight pair of black pants tucked into knee-high leather boots and her beloved med pack at her waist. She never went anywhere without it, even on a day off.

Her pink hair was, for once, down in its soft natural waves. She absently fingered an errant strand of hair before tucking it back behind her ear. Sakura felt like a real ninja today; a feeling she had not felt in many months since Pein's assault.

Sakura polished off her blueberry muffin and stood, stretching her arms high above her head to work out a couple kinks in her back. She could see the village starting to come to life with the sun, so she hopped down, landing silently on the forest floor.

The young woman began her slow walk back into the village, nodding politely at a couple villagers who happened to pass her. Sakura had long since moved from her parent's home and into her own apartment. It was quieter and private, even though Naruto (and on some occasions, Sai) spent more time there than at his own place.

The abuse towards her had only escalated since Sasuke's return home, so her two teammates had taken it upon themselves to be her 'knights in shining armor', as Naruto liked to call himself.

It was a sweet, useless gesture that really only brought about more torment, but she could never find it in herself to tell them to stop. They were her closest friends, and Sakura would take anything they threw at her if it meant keeping Naruto and Sai happy.

The peaceful feeling Sakura was savoring was finally broken as Sakura spotted Ino, Sasuke, Chōji and Ten-Ten exiting a small café that had recently opened towards the center of Konoha.

Sakura frowned but continued on, unwilling to give them the satisfaction of watching her turn tail and run like a coward.

"Oh look, it's forehead. Playing jōnin today?" Ino's grating voice set Sakura's nerves on edge. Aside from Sasuke, the entire Konoha eleven were jōnin, including Sai.

Sakura chose to say nothing, instead shooting the blond Yamanaka a withering glance. None of them were worth the breath in her lungs.

Sasuke grabbed Sakura's wrist as she attempted to brush past the group. Pink hair whipped about her face as he spun her around to face him. His dark eyes were just as cold as she remembered.

"You don't ignore someone when they're talking to you, Sakura-_chan._" There was a time, years ago, where she would have died hearing the Uchiha say her name like that; but that was in the past.

A boy she once admired and fantasized over was long since dead. What replaced him was a cold-hearted killer – stronger, crueler; yet somehow pardoned for his vicious crimes. Leave it to the council to turn a blind eye in order to get the Uchiha blood back into the village…

Sasuke terrified the young woman, and not a whole lot scared the 17-year-old kunoichi. She'd seen too much in her short life to be scared of the things that go 'bump' in the night.

"You aren't worth my time, Sasuke. Let me go before I make you let me go." Her voice was ice cold, an unusual tone to hear from the pink-haired woman. It was enough to make Chōji take a few steps back.

A smirk blossomed on the handsome Uchiha's face, his grip on her small wrist tightening as he drew her closer.

Ino 'tsked' and put a hand on Sasuke's free arm. "Let's go, Sasuke-kun. This pig isn't worth it… All you're going to do is get on Naruto's bad side, though why someone as great as him chooses to defend this trash is beyond me. Talk about bad standards."

Sakura bit her lip hard, making Sasuke chuckle. The look in his dark eyes made the hair on the back of her neck prickle uncomfortably.

"He just needs a willing bitch to keep him satisfied. His power must be so intoxicating for a little thing like you." His lips brushed against her ear, and she had to clench her jaw tightly to keep from crying.

In a sudden move of speed that would impress even Lee, Sakura shoved Ino back and had Sasuke on his knees, wrist bent to near snapping point at Sakura's hand. A tear slipped down her pale cheek, but she paid it no mind.

Ten-Ten rushed past to help Ino up. Both looked ready to jump Sakura at a drop of a hat.

Her emerald green eyes stared hard at Sasuke who was still smirking, despite the painful hold on his wrist.

"You can say whatever you want about me, but don't you fucking dare sully Naruto's name. He is one thousand times the man you will ever be, Uchiha." She released his wrist and disappeared in a flurry of cherry blossoms.

She appeared not too far away, next to a giant tree that stood across from her apartment building. Sakura jogged up the stairs to her door, tears blurring at her vision as she pulled a set of keys from a pocket in her vest and slipped inside.

She collapsed to the wooden floor the second her door slammed shut.

Why did everyone act so cruelly to her? What did she ever do to anyone to warrant such nastiness and hatred…?

"Sakura-chan? Is that you? You left ear- What happened?!" Naruto came around the corner from her kitchen, spotting the pink-haired jōnin on her knees, head bent low and hands fisted in her lap.

He approached her quickly and knelt down, letting the young woman slip into his arms and sob into his black tee-shirt. He had a pretty good idea as to what may have happened, but he was going to let her tell him about it when she was ready.

He let Sakura cry for several minutes, calloused fingers running through her long hair comfortingly. Naruto wished he only had to count on one hand the amount of times he had found Sakura crying alone in her apartment. She was the strongest person he knew; stronger than Tsunade. But even she had her limit.

Finally, Sakura pulled back and gave the blond a sad smile. She wiped at her face with a sleeve and let her best friend stand up and help her to her feet. He led her into the kitchen and started some tea.

"Were you here all night? I didn't see you on the couch when I left…" She broke the companionable silence in the small kitchen, green eyes watching Naruto dig through her cupboard for one of her many tea blends.

He glanced back at Sakura with a smile.

"Nah, I just came by an hour ago. You weren't home, so I waited around. There you are, drink up." He set a mug in front of her before taking a seat in the chair across the table.

Sakura's green eyes stared down at the mug, momentarily mesmerized by the wisps of steam as she thought about how grateful she was to have a best friend like Naruto.

All those times being so mean to him, and never once did he stop wanting to be her friend…

"I don't deserve you." She sighed tiredly, though the clock on her wall only read 8 am. It was way too early to be this bummed out.

Naruto watched the pink-haired woman drink deeply from her mug with a frown on his tanned face. He absolutely hated seeing her like this. Like her, Naruto could never understand why so many of his friends hated her. There wasn't a thing about Sakura that would be worth hating…

"What happened?" She told him everything, despite her 'inner' Sakura screaming to keep Sasuke's actions out of it. Naruto was still so blinded by his faith in Sasuke, and she did not want to hurt him with any of the terrible things he had done or said to her.

Naruto's hands were clenched in fists atop the table by the end of her story. She quickly released her grip on the warm mug and took his hands into her own.

"Stop, Naruto. There is no point in getting upset over it. All they do is prove to me that they are the weak ones, not the other way around. I just wish I knew why everyone is so hell bent on putting me down…" She gave him a reassuring smile and released his hands to finish her tea.

Naruto knew Sakura believed he still thought the world of Sasuke, but she was only half right. Naruto would forever think of the teme as a friend, but he no longer trusted him.

No matter how many pardons the council threw at the sole surviving Uchiha heir, he was always going to have that darkness in his soul; and that made him completely untrustworthy in Naruto's eyes.

Sakura broke his train of thought when she slipped from the chair, mug standing empty on the dark oak table. He stood as she beckoned to follow her into the adjoining living room.

The pink-haired jōnin had a very simple, yet cozy one-bedroom apartment in a large complex only a few blocks away from the Hokage's tower. It was where many of the younger, high-ranking ninja outside of any major clans lived, Naruto included.

Most of the decently-sized living room was taken up by bookshelves – each filled beyond their capacity with medical books, scrolls and notebooks. It was controlled chaos, as Sakura would fondly call it.

Whatever space was left held a comfortable sofa, a dark oak coffee table that matched her kitchen table, a plush deep green rug that covered the wood floor, and a rustic fireplace with a picture-lined mantle. It was her favorite room in the whole apartment.

She glanced fondly at a picture of her, Naruto and Sai at a festival a couple years ago. Naruto and herself grinned brightly, cheek-to-cheek while Sai merely smiled at his best capacity. Naruto had an arm over his shoulders, and Sakura could see the stoic man's eyes full of emotion. He had come a long way since they first met…

It was hard to look at those smiling faces and imagine all the death and destruction they saw not eight months later.

Sakura all but collapsed into the soft fabric of the couch, legs draped over the arm like a discarded doll. A smile blossomed on her lips when Naruto un-zipped her boots and tossed them out into the hallway.

He tossed her the book she had been trying to reach without moving before sitting down at her head so the woman could curl into his lap and read.

"I have some paperwork to do, so I'll go with you to see that Hokage-baka. Baa-chan is going to pummel me if I don't get this in to the Hokage soon…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, grinning down at Sakura when she flicked him in his whiskered cheek.

"That was supposed to be on the Hokage's desk two weeks ago, Naruto. It's a wonder Tsunade-sama hasn't killed you yet. You know as well as I do, she wants you in that chair soon." Naruto set the folder on the arm of the couch and ran his fingers through her long locks.

She sighed contently and opened up her book, flipping right to her bookmarked page on poisons. Sakura had read it a hundred times before, and she was going to read it a hundred times more.

It never hurt to read and read again, especially if she ever had hopes of making it into Anbu as a medic…

* * *

After making the two of them a real breakfast a couple hours later, Sakura and Naruto strolled leisurely through the village streets on their way to the Hokage tower. It was a beautiful day, and there was honestly no guarantee the lazy man was even there.

They pair was stopped twice: Once by Iruka, who jogged over to say hello to Naruto, and then again by Shizune, who was out running a couple errands for the Hokage. At least then they knew the man was in his office.

Naruto didn't bother to knock, instead throwing the door open to waltz right in. Sakura appeared right behind him after shutting the door, green eyes narrowed with an irritation only Naruto could cause.

"Baka! You don't just bust in like that!" Sakura scolded, punching the orange-clad blond in the arm. Naruto only shrugged and tossed the files onto the remarkably clean desk. It was almost suspiciously clean, considering the current Hokage.

"Here ya go, Kakashi-sensei. That's everything baa-chan wanted me to fill out." Kakashi's lone eye studied the pair standing before his desk, completely ignoring the intrusion. Scolding Naruto would be about as useful as asking a boulder to move aside.

It just wouldn't work.

Both ex-students of his, and proud jōnin at that. It made him feel old to see the two seventeen-year old's standing there, even though he was only twenty-nine. He had seen them both do more than their part during Pein's assault, especially Naruto.

The copy-nin had certainly been proud to have them fight alongside him in that chaotic attack. He wouldn't have asked for anyone else…

It was on his word that they were promptly promoted to jōnin, after all. The perks of being handed a Hokage hat.

"You were supposed to bring this by weeks ago, Naruto." He said finally, opening the folder to flip through the contents slowly.

"I've been busy, sensei. Tsunade baa-chan has me going grey with all her work!" Naruto tugged on his perfectly blond hair for effect. When he wasn't in endless preparation with Tsunade, he was helping with restorations of the village or at the Academy with Iruka, regaling the little genin hopefuls with war stories or his own genin past.

"Tagging along with Naruto today, Sakura? I should think you would have chosen to sleep the day away on your rare day off. I've heard you're working long shifts…" Kakashi didn't bother looking up at his lone female student, not that she would have expected anything else.

He had been so quick to judge and abandon her too. He just tossed her aside like the civilian trash everyone else thought she was. Sakura would forever be grateful to Tsunade for allowing her to become her student.

Tsunade was the first person to truly recognize the young girl's potential. Sakura could not have imagined life without Tsunade had she not woken up from her coma. The thought was just too painful.

Sakura honestly didn't know what she would have done had Tsunade said no… It wouldn't have been anything good, she knew that.

The pink-haired kunoichi frowned, watching her ex-sensei flip through some paperwork instead of giving her the full attention she deserved.

"I cam to ask for your permission to join Anbu, Hokage-sama." Her voice was strong, back straight as her green eyes stared the copy-nin down. She had to clench her jaw to keep from smirking as the file fell from Kakashi's hands, his head shooting up to look at Sakura incredulously.

Had he heard her right? She, Haruno Sakura, wanted to join Anbu?

And when did she get so formal with him? What the hell was in that drink he had last night…

"Is this some sort of joke to get back at your old sensei?" Sakura stepped forward until she was only inches from the Hokage's large desk. She could see that his lone grey eye was dark, a clear sign he was irritated by her request.

"No sir. My skills as a medic and a trained fighter would be far better put to use in Anbu right now instead of at the hospital. Tsunade-sama has already given me her blessing." Sure, Tsunade had nearly collapsed when Sakura brought up Anbu.

Sakura was as close to a daughter as she would ever have, and just the mere mention of Sakura and Anbu in the same sentence was enough to make her woozy.

Tsunade knew the young woman was a good fit for Anbu; she had trained the pink-haired brat herself, after all. She just didn't want to lose her bright, cheerful young woman to that soul-crushing rank. No one who joined left in the same state.

After a loud shouting match that terrorized poor Shizune (Honestly, you'd think she was used to it by now…), Tsunade agreed to give Sakura her blessings. Sakura was just not someone you could say no to.

Kakashi stayed silent for a long few moments, eyeing both of the jōnin before him with a neutral expression. He loathed being put into these kinds of situations.

"Denied."

Sakura's jaw dropped and Naruto rushed forward, slamming his palms on the desk with enough force to make some books topple off the side. "Sensei! You can't!" Sakura grabbed Naruto by the upper arm and yanked him back, ignoring the look of astonishment on his tanned face.

"Why? I am JUST as good as anyone else coming to you for permission to join. I demand consideration!" Green eyes glared at the Hokage, her jaw set firmly in determination. There was no way she was going to let someone like Hatake Kakashi tell her no, Hokage or not.

Kakashi circled his desk and approached the pink-haired jōnin, his 6' height towering over her shorter 5' 3'' stature. Her green eyes never once left his masked face; never once flinched at his attempt at intimidation.

Sakura wasn't afraid of him, and he knew it.

"Fine. I want to see you at training ground four at 6 am on Friday. Dismissed, both of you." Sakura stood there a moment longer, the small smirk on her pale face as she looked up at the Hokage saying a thousand silent words.

Haruno Sakura:1

Hatake Kakashi: Goose egg.

"You won't regret it, Hokage-sama." She sidestepped the tall man and vanished through the opened door, Naruto swinging the door shut behind him as he followed her out into the hallway.

Kakashi ran a gloved hand through his silver hair, slumping against the desk as soon as the door slammed shut.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he hadn't seen that coming. He had seen the young woman fight; several times by his side. He had also seen her legendary medic skills at work, and they were an impressive sight to see.

It was only a matter of time before Sakura came around, looking for something bigger and better. He just wished it hasn't been him as the Hokage when she made her decision…

Sakura didn't have a set destiny like Naruto did; she was a free soul ready to soak up anything she could, no matter when or where she was.

Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling very weary. Sakura was too good-natured for Anbu. She was far too soft to be a cold-blooded killer like them, and he did NOT want to be the one that allowed her to turn into that.

He had seen firsthand what Anbu did to soft, unprepared ninja like herself. Those that live to get out are never the same. It just isn't pretty.

He glanced up as Shizune appeared at the door, a tray of coffee's in one hand and a box of files in the other. Kakashi was so grateful to that woman; the office would, without a doubt, burn to the ground if she had left him alone.

"I'm going to guess by Sakura's face just a minute ago that you said no?" Kakashi thanked the woman for the large coffee and strode across the room to look out over the village. His grey eye spotted Naruto following Sakura from the tower, only to be stopped by Kiba and Sasuke.

"I did at first. She didn't accept that and demanded I give her consideration." He said, watching with mild interest as Naruto punched the Uchiha heir in the mouth. What in the hell could have brought that on?

Shizune chuckled lightly, picking up the fallen books and placing them back on the desk.

"That's Sakura for you. Once she has her mind set on something, there is no turning back." The sudden red in Sasuke's eyes had Kakashi raising an eyebrow. He could see Sasuke say something to Sakura before spinning on his heel and walking away, Kiba in tow.

Kakashi took a long drink of his coffee, grateful for its bitterness.

It was going to be an excruciatingly long three days until Friday. No wonder Tsunade drank so much…


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I'm a day early from my projected weekly update. I'm bored at home (On a Monday, I know), so I figured I'd post chapter 2 a little early.

So, I realize I left a ton to be desired with my first chapter's little preface, so here is a little bit more to give you an idea as to what the hell is going on in my head for this story.

Naruto is, obviously, Sakura's closest friend in this. I ship them pretty hard as well, so I literally cannot leave him out. They are cute as hell in this story, BUT they are not the pairing .

This is a Kakashi/Sakura story, so no worries y'all. I'll be throwing Naruto over at Hinata soon enough, just for the sake of story progression.

I hope that makes for a little clearer understanding of the story... So if the Naruto thing bothers you just, I don't know, make a funny face and keep reading. That's what I do when I read something I don't like hahahaha

Enjoy!

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Friday morning came quickly for Sakura, having worked 16-hour shifts the past two days. Konoha may have been at peace, but that didn't mean there wasn't a million things to do at the hospital. Patients to tend to, unruly nurses to keep in line, students to train…

There was no short supply of work for the world-renown medic. The hospital was, most days, the only place she could get away from being terrorized. The nurses generally kept their mouths shut and their opinions to themselves.

The legendary sannin, Tsunade, did not tolerate any sort of bad talk or gossip in her hospital, most especially when it pertained to her precious student.

No one ignored something the busty woman said, not unless they wanted to be pummeled into the ground, demoted, and then fired.

Sakura's fellow doctors respected her at the very least, and she was eternally grateful for that. It made working her long hours as second-in-command to Tsunade tolerable at best.

The pink-haired jōnin had no idea what the Hokage was going to want from her, but knowing Kakashi, it wasn't going to be anything easy.

If he showed up, that was…

Sakura was in bed the moment she returned home from work, setting an alarm for 4 am. The likelihood of the copy-nin being late were astronomically high, but Sakura wasn't taking any chances.

She did not like being tardy, no matter the situation.

The alarm sounded in what felt like the blink of an eye, and Sakura rolled onto her side to slap blindly at the offending noise. The pink-haired medic was used to being up early, but it did not mean she enjoyed it.

Sakura was mildly surprised by the second body in her bed, snoring softly into one of her many pillows that littered the comfortable king-sized bed. It was not uncommon for her to curl up in bed with Naruto, but she never felt him come in that night.

It was obvious she had been very deep asleep when he came in that night. Her body was used to the blond's chakra signature, so his sudden presence would not have woken her up anyways.

Sleepy blue eyes cracked open as Sakura forced her way into his muscular arms. He smiled softly into the pink head of hair nuzzling into his bare chest.

"You were tossing and turning when I stopped by, so I figured you needed some company…" His voice was rough with sleep, and she sighed contently when she felt his lips kiss the top of her head in a reassuring gesture.

Neither one of them felt any sort of romance towards each other; only a deep, comfortable friendship that allowed them to love one another endlessly and unconditionally.

Naruto was Sakura's most trusted friend, and she would take on the entire world all at once if it meant keeping that sunny grin plastered to his whiskered face.

They had, of course, slept with one another several times; but it was more for stress release or simply because they could. Life was too hectic for anything serious, not that either one of them were even looking.

Both her and Naruto were too focused on becoming the best they could be to bother with something so trivial as dating.

The medic had tried several times to get him to take Hinata on a date, but it never worked. Naruto had too much focus on becoming Hokage to even entertain the idea of a date with the pretty Hyūga.

Some day she would get them together… They would be such perfection in her eyes.

"If the Hokage kills me, just know that I love you." Her soft voice was muffled by the dark blue comforter on her bed, but he heard her every word. She felt the deep reverberation in his chest as he chuckled, pulling the lithe woman into his arms for a tight hug.

"I'm more worried about him than I am you. Try not to kill him, eh?" Sakura breathed deeply for a few moments before slipping from Naruto's sleeping arms and out of the warm bed.

She dressed quickly, gathered her med kit and weapons pouches that lay in a heap atop her dresser and padded down the hall to her small kitchen.

Sakura strapped up while her kettle made hot water for tea, an absolute must if she ever hoped to have a decent start to her morning. Just as some people were addicted to coffee, she was addicted to tea.

It was a bad day if she didn't have at least 4 cups of tea.

Sakura's mind whirred with endless scenarios and their possible outcomes as she poured the deliciously hot tea into a plastic mug, snapping the lid on the top with a tap of her palm.

That Hatake Kakashi was a very unpredictable man.

Locking the wooden door behind her, Sakura bit into a large red apple and descended the four flights of stairs that made up a portion of the six-floor apartment complex.

It was a cool morning, the sun only having just begun its rise into the clear sky as she stepped out through the front doors and onto the sidewalk leading to the road.

Sakura took a deep breath of the crisp air, smiling happily as she exhaled. It wasn't quite cold enough to see one's breath, but it wouldn't be long before that chill set in for the season.

There were only a couple shop owners and early-rising ninja out, so the pink-haired jōnin was able to enjoy her leisurely stroll towards training ground four in complete peace.

She arrived well over a half-hour early, so she sat down cross-legged at the center of the grassy training field to meditate and sip on her black tea.

Sakura found meditation to be one of her greatest assets in being the ninja she was today. Whether it was for a mission, training with Tsunade or to wind down from a particularly bad day at work, mediation helped the young woman reign her anger and soothe her turbulent emotions.

Her 'inner' Sakura had been a spitfire nuisance growing up, having basically come into existence as a result of her own, un-restrained anger issues.

But now Sakura found that she relied on that odd connection for problem-solving or to clear her head. Inner-Sakura was one of the medic's greatest allies.

Sakura caught the kunai aimed for the back of her head with ease, her emerald eyes still closed against the outside world. She spun it around in her hand and stabbed it into the earth beside her.

"Child's play, Hokage-sama. You're actually on time, too. Did Shizune shove you out the door?" She blinked a few times at the brighter surroundings as she turned her head to face Kakashi.

He stood only a few yards away, dressed in his usual ninja garb - not that he bothered to wear anything else.

Hokage or not, Hatake Kakashi was still the same aloof, orange book-loving ninja the village admired and the world feared. A grand title like that meant little to the tall man.

Kakashi watched the pink-haired jōnin come to her feet with the grace of a seasoned kunoichi. She tossed the empty tea mug to the side of the field as she approached the silver-haired nin.

"Mahh, you know you can call me Kakashi, Sakura. You don't need to be so formal with your old sensei." She stopped a few feet short of where Kakashi stood and shrugged her slender shoulders.

"Of course, Kakashi. Old habits, I suppose…" Her eyes gazed off at something behind him, allowing the copy-nin a moment to study how much Sakura had grown since becoming his genin student some six years ago.

Her pink hair was long once again, and the air of confidence that swirled about her with every step only enhanced her exotic beauty.

He could see the tired look in her green eyes, a look he himself knew all too well. The ninja way of life afforded little in the way of restfulness.

"You know you can't join Anbu until you're 18, right?" He said finally, shifting his stance so he could stuff his hands into his pockets. Sakura smiled at her old sensei, not at all dismayed by that statement.

"I did, yes. And as you probably know, I will be 18 in just about 7 months. That's more than enough time for me to better train myself." She crossed her arms beneath her bosom, determination set in her pale face as she stood there facing him.

Though she couldn't see it, a frown marred his masked lips. Anbu was no place for the young kunoichi, but he could see it wasn't going to be as easy as scaring her into submission and telling her to forget about it.

Sakura was too much like Tsunade for something like that to work.

Kakashi wasn't exactly sure why he was so against her joining Anbu; they needed new members desperately, especially after the complete destruction they faced as a result of Pein's attack.

Maybe it was from his own experience as an Anbu nin, or maybe simply because it was Sakura who was asking. Could he really afford to take her case so personally?

The masked jōnin was not going to make the mistake of letting her down a second time; not when he had this rare opportunity to make some sort of amends to their relationship and make up for so much lost time.

"If you're serious about it, then spar with me. No jutsu, no weapons." He tossed his weapons pouch across the field to where her empty tea mug lay. He watched Sakura do the same with her own weapons pouch.

She pulled black gloves from a pocket in her jōnin flak jacket and slipped them on, flexing her fingers slightly out of reflex. She hadn't worn them since her last training session with Sai nearly two weeks ago.

It was difficult to find the time to spar when you worked 16 hour shifts most days…

"You won't be the first Hokage ass I've kicked, Kakashi." Her smile was demure, but the look in her green eyes told a different story. The silver-haired jōnin merely chuckled.

His stance never changed from that oh-so-typical aloof posture, but Sakura knew better; he was ready to fight. Kakashi was always ready for an attack, even with his nose in a book.

Sakura made the first strike, dashing forward with a chakra-laden fist aimed right at his masked face. Expecting that as her first attack, Kakashi was already somersaulting to the side, forcing Sakura to aim her fist to the ground.

A decently-sized crater exploded into existence as her fist connected with the earth. She smirked as rocks and clumps of dirt flew in all directions. Her own monstrous strength never lost its splendor.

"You're too predictable, Sakura." His voice came from behind and she spun quickly, catching his gloved fist with a practiced ease. She wrapped her long fingers around his wrist and tugged him forward, her free hand already swinging forward.

The copy-nin ripped free of her grasp and deflected her upper-cut, using that millisecond of vulnerability between moves to slam an open hand into her chest and send the pink-haired kunoichi skidding backwards.

Sakura was able to regain her footing before she could fall and shot Kakashi a haughty smirk.

There was nothing quite like going up against the great copy-nin as an equal, and not as a bratty little genin student.

Sakura lunged forward once again, blocking a kick with her forearm and clipping the Hokage in the shoulder with her fist. He took a few steps back to a avoid a second punch from the kunoichi.

She of course didn't miss a beat, flipping forward with her left heel aimed for the top of his silver, gravity-defying head. The copy-nin didn't move, instead grabbing her by the ankle before it could strike him and whipped her across the large field.

Sakura slammed into the base of a tree, wincing slightly at the pain that shot up her spine. She quickly pulled herself to her feet, brushing some dirt from her backside.

"You could have tossed me away from the trees, Kakashi. Jeez…" The medic called out, green eyes rolling when he shrugged his shoulders and waggled his fingers in a sarcastic little wave.

Kakashi vanished suddenly from sight, so Sakura quickly shut her green eyes and focused on her auditory surroundings.

One deep breath… Two deep breaths…

There! A nearly imperceptible shift to her left. Emerald green eyes opened in a flash and shifted sideways just as Kakashi's gloved fist came for the side of her face.

Sakura swung around on him, her own fist not missing the mark and slammed into the side of his masked face. A victorious smirk blossomed on her lips as he rebounded off the ground, a disgruntled groan escaping his lips.

The smirk was short lived, however, as that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. A large log stood in his place.

"What the fu-" The air was forced from her lungs as the real Kakashi tackled her to the ground, pinning her arms above her head. Emerald green eyes narrowed into slits at the smirk she knew was beyond that damned mask.

The slight crinkle at the corner of his visible grey eye said it all.

"Always expect the unexpected, Sakura." He spoke quietly, studying her flushed, irritated face with mild amusement. She looked cute like that.

Before Kakashi could even scold himself for thinking something ridiculous like that, Sakura had used her monstrous, chakra-enhanced strength to reverse the positions.

She now had him pinned to the ground, a kunai at his throat as she straddled his hips.

"Always expect the unexpected, _sensei_." Her irritated sarcasm was not lost on him. Sakura hated being played like that. She pulled the kunai from his covered throat, sitting up so she could slip it into the back of her right boot.

So that's where the kunai came from… He should have guessed the kunoichi would have a few weapons hidden somewhere on her body. I suppose neither one of them were planning on playing fair.

Sakura grinned down at her Hokage, reveling in her small victory against the great copy-nin. His grey eye gazed up at her grinning face.

"You can get off of me now, Sakura." Her mouth made an 'O', his statement making her very suddenly aware of their overly-friendly position. She stood quickly and held out a hand to help Kakashi to his feet.

"It's easy to forget how strong you are. Tsunade certainly held nothing back from you when she taught you how to use those fists." He said, gripping his left shoulder as he rolled it a few times to release some of its soreness.

She really had hit him pretty good.

The pink-haired jōnin smiled sheepishly, unused to any sort of compliments towards her abilities. She really wished she could hear it more often…

Sakura stepped close to Kakashi, removing his right hand so she could lay her own, glowing hand on the sore shoulder. The silver-haired man sighed gratefully.

"Does that mean you will consider me for Anbu?" Her green eyes looked up into Kakashi's face, her glowing hand still working on the abused left shoulder. He was silent for a moment, his eye focused on the small crater her fists made a few yards away.

He wanted, almost desperately so, for his brain and mouth to both say NO.

"Yeah, I'll give you the application." No such luck then. Mind screamed no, mouth said yes. Sakura squealed with delight and hugged the tall ninja tightly.

"Thank you so much, Hoka- Kakashi!" She pulled back, a bright smile on her flushed face. That smile of hers was contagious, and he couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto his own, masked lips.

Since when did this pink-haired woman, the only female student to team 7, become so damned attractive?

He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't thank me, Sakura. Not yet, anyways. You'll resume training with me once I step down as Hokage." Green eyes widened to an almost comically large size. He was going to be her teacher again?

"I won't let you down, Kakashi." And that was a promise. Come hell or high water, Sakura was getting into Anbu. She turned away from the copy-nin and strode across the training field to her discarded weapons pouch, tossing Kakashi's over her shoulder as he approached.

"You can come pick up the paperwork whenever. It'll be on my desk waiting for you." He said as they walked, side-by-side, out of the training field and into the village.

The Konoha streets were already bustling with civilians and ninja alike, everyone starting their days. Several people bowed or said hello to the Hokage, never once sparing a glance to the pink-haired jōnin beside him.

He picked up on it, and it was easy to see that the 'invisibility' treatment she received ruffled her feathers pretty good. Kakashi knew he had certainly done the young kunoichi no favors by abandoning her in favor of Sasuke and Naruto, but at the time, she had shown nothing that warranted any further training from him.

Obviously, he saw now that it was a mistake, but that was all in the past. To err is human…

Sakura saw Ino and Hinata approaching them and tensed slightly. They both bowed politely to Kakashi once they had gotten close enough.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Was said in unison. Sakura would never get used to seeing everyone bow to the porn-loving man.

Hinata turned to address Sakura, a gentle smile on her pretty face. It was always just a treat to see her kind face; it was like a breath of fresh air for the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Y-you have a cut on your f-face, Sakura." Her voice was soft, but Sakura heard the pale-eyed Hyūga all the same. Her hand brushed over her forehead, feeling the small cut above her left eyebrow.

Ino scoffed loudly, her hands on her hips as she tapped her heeled foot impatiently.

"Forehead probably tripped and fell." Hinata instantly looked uncomfortable, her hands twisting anxiously as she looked from Ino to Sakura, and then back to Ino. Sakura shot Ino a dirty look, hating that she would force Hinata into such an uncomfortable position.

Kakashi put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, surprising the young woman at the sudden gesture. Ino's ice blue eyes looked up at her Hokage, a frown marring her lips.

"Sakura here was kind enough to meet me at the training ground this morning for some friendly sparring. Between the two of us, she certainly got the better end of the injuries. You would do well to train with Sakura, Ino. Your last mission report was a bit lack-luster."

Ino bristled with anger at having been talked to like that, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. Sakura smiled at Hinata as they bid goodbye and continued on their way.

The pink-haired jōnin turned to face Kakashi, eyes squinting slightly as she faced into the sun, shining brightly directly above the masked-nin's head.

"Thank you, Kakashi. Really, you didn't need to say anything on my behalf." He chuckled, his visible grey eye crinkling. He had seen (and heard) the insults and vicious treatment Sakura had endured throughout her years since the academy, but it only seemed like he was really seeing it for the first time.

He wondered if Sakura felt anger towards him as well and was simply using formalities to keep him at an arm's length.

He couldn't give her any sort of negativity if she never gave him a reason to, after all. This young woman before him was ten times the kunoichi any of the other female brats her age were.

"I never liked that Yamanaka girl anyways. There isn't an ounce of brain inside that pretty head of hers." Sakura smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Those emerald green orbs, sparkling beautifully in the sunlight, looked defeated.

Sakura was tired of never being anything but hated and invisible to everyone. There was no respect, no kindness to lift her spirits and keep her moving forward in a positive direction.

It didn't take a genius to figure out Sakura's real reason behind wanting to join Anbu. Kakashi held up a hand as Sakura bid him farewell, her lithe form quickly disappearing into the throng of people.

He frowned, turning to stare up at the Hokage mountain when he could no longer see pink hair.

Anbu was not the way to prove oneself…

It was how you committed suicide.


	3. Chapter 3

Heyyyy, I'm back with chapter three! It's a little late, but a mom's life is infinitely busy!

I'm leaving for vacation next week, so no guarantees the next chapter will be up on time either... Regardless of that, the chapter will go up no matter what~

Please enjoy chapter three!

* * *

Sakura rode the high from her spar with Kakashi for several days, letting nothing get her spirits down; not even Ino. The blond-haired Yamanaka tried twice to get back at her for the Hokage's rude comment, but Sakura laughed her off both times.

She was on top of the world right now.

Three teams of chūunin out on a routine mission to lightning country came back with varying injuries, keeping the pink-haired medic unbelievably busy for four days.

The hospital was short-staffed; Tsunade had taken six of their nurses and two doctors to Suna for some medic training. So, being second-in-command, Sakura lived at the hospital for 96 straight hours while working around the clock tending to her many patients.

Sakura was certain she could count on one hand the number of hours she slept in the course of those four days. It was honestly a surprise she was still standing…

The medic stretched her arms high above her head, grateful for the chilly night air that surrounded her exhausted form as she strolled through the double doors at the front entrance of the hospital.

All of her patients were finally stable and the manic rush was over, allowing the young woman time to finally go home and get some much-needed sleep. The village was silent as she walked, her mind on the warm covers that awaited her tired body.

Aside from the exhaustion, Sakura's chakra reserves were uncomfortably low, and a headache pounding at the base of her skull only served to quicken her pace home. She was in desperate need of a shower, but the idea of spending the extra energy on washing her hair made putting off a shower for one more day sound fine.

It was late, maybe one in the morning, but Sakura could feel the sensation of eyes on her. She couldn't sense any chakra signatures that might be out of the ordinary, but that only increased her wariness.

"Boo." A deep voice in her right ear sent a cold chill down her spine. She spun on her heel, the white doctor's coat fanning around her waist as she prepared to fight the person behind her.

Sasuke stood before her in the dim light of a street lantern, a cold smirk on his pale face. Onyx eyes bled to red, glinting dangerously in the darkness of the early morning.

She came at him with every intention of caving his face in with her knuckles, but with such low chakra, it was a pointless move on her end. Sasuke caught the smaller fist with ease and used Sakura's forward momentum to pull her along and slam her body into the dirt road.

It hadn't rained in quite a few days, so the dust cloud that exploded to life from the sudden blow was large and disorientating to the medic.

He put a knee to her back, hand gripping the back of her neck as he bent forward to look her in the face. She kept her eyes on a small stone embedded in the earth as the dust settled around it, unwilling to look the Uchiha in the eye.

Sakura knew what he could do with them, and she was not willing to take any chances.

She was strong, he would give her that; but right now, he was stronger. Impossibly strong...

Sasuke had waited for her, knowing full well that the pink-haired medic's chakra reserves would be running on empty after her four days saving patients. Sakura always put others before herself.

"Don't bother fighting, Sakura-_chan._ You are completely powerless against me, and you know it." Sakura growled, furious at herself for being so off guard and allowing her chakra to get so low that she could not fight back at her full potential.

Thankful for her quick mind and critical thinking even in a rough situation like this, Sakura thrust her head forward, slamming her forehead into Sasuke's face with as much strength as she could muster.

It was more than enough to make the Uchiha jump to his feet, hands covering his nose as he cursed loudly. The strike against her assailant gave Sakura a moment to scramble to her own feet and take a few steps back.

She ignored the hot feeling of blood dripping over the bridge of her nose and down her chin in a steady stream.

"You have it all wrong, Sasuke. It is **you** that is beneath **me. **You are NEVER going to be on my level, and I almost feel sorry for you." Sakura didn't need her chakra to fight him. If he wanted to go, she would gladly take him on.

Sasuke swiped at the blood dripping from his nose with the back of his hand angrily. This weak fucking bitch needed to learn her place… What gave her the right to hit him, an Uchiha?

The sharingan user flickered from sight, reappearing directly in front of the pink-haired jōnin before she even had a chance to blink. Sasuke slammed Sakura into the trunk of a large tree, his hand wrapped tightly around her slender throat as her feet lifted from the ground centimeter by centimeter.

The delicious sound of Sakura gasping for air and the slender fingers prying desperately at his hand only made him smirk. The strength she possessed without her chakra ability was no match for his own remarkable strength.

Sakura was powerless against him, and he relished every moment of it.

"You should have kept your mouth shut, Sakura. Instead, you felt you needed to tell your little lap cat all about our incident the other day. There is obviously something about you worth keeping around, if Naruto feels the need to punch me in your honor…"

Sakura tried to kick his feet out from under him so he would let go, but the action only caused Sasuke to tighten his hold on her neck. Spots appeared before her eyes, a sure sign she was going to lose consciousness soon…

"It really is too bad, Haruno. You'd probably make a good bitch to restore my clan with." Green eyes widened, looking suddenly into the Uchiha's sharingan with surprise at his bold statement.

Big mistake.

Sasuke frowned as the pink-haired kunoichi collapsed into the dirt, staring down at his unconscious ex-teammate dispassionately.

Sakura was walking a thin line with him now. No one disrespected an Uchiha and got away with it without a scratch, especially not him. Sasuke had no problems beating her into submission over and over until she got the hint, or she was going to die stubborn and stupid.

Sasuke vanished in a flurry of leaves, the woman he had knocked out with his sharingan left alone in the cold dirt.

"How can it already be after one?" Kakashi muttered, a yawn muffled by the back of his gloved hand. His grey eye looked away from the offending clock and glanced down at the scattered papers that littered his desk.

The three chūunin teams that had come back injured left him with a literal mountain of paperwork to take care of. He wasn't done, but losing track of time tonight certainly put a sizeable dent towards its completion.

The masked Hokage stood slowly from the chair at his desk, stifling another yawn with his hand. The rest could certainly wait until morning… Maybe if he was slow enough, Shizune would finish them.

Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jōnin pants, Kakashi exited the office and out into the cool, moonless night.

He chose to continue living in his apartment instead of moving into the Hokage's living quarters for personal reasons. He never intended to be the Hokage for this long, and the lavish abode did not suit his simplistic way of life.

His lone grey eye stared up at the clear sky, taking in the billions of stars that speckled the beautiful darkness like splatters of white paint on a black canvas.

It was always a humbling sight to the copy-nin.

His attention returned tiredly to the dirt road as he turned left towards his apartment complex at the far edge of the village. It was a bit of a walk, but that was nothing to him.

The sudden appearance of a white object in his peripheral caught his attention; something that looked very out of place beneath a tree at the side of the road. A grey eye widened when, as he walked closer, he realized the object was a doctor's coat and that it was attached to someone.

The pink hair was un-mistakeable.

"Shit. Sakura!" He knelt down beside the fallen medic and rolled her onto her back, his right hand supporting her the back of her head.

Kakashi was relieved to see that Sakura was still breathing, but the dried blood smeared across her pale face worried him.

Lifting the unconscious kunoichi into his arms, the silver-haired jōnin disappeared, only to reappear inside his living room. He set Sakura down on the small black couch to his right and slipped down the hall to his bathroom to grab a med kit.

As someone who made it a point to avoid the hospital at all costs, Kakashi's medical kit was bigger than what would be necessary in a ninja home.

He returned to the living room, hitting the light switch with his elbow along the way. It was a hell of a lot easier to work with the lights on…

The copy-nin sat down on the coffee table that stood opposite the couch and leaned in to study the young woman's bloodied face. "What the hell happened to you?"

His voice seemed loud inside the room; barren aside from a couple bookcases, a coffee table, an armchair and a couch. It wasn't much, but it was all he needed.

With a gentle, practiced hand, Kakashi wiped away the blood caked to Sakura's face. A small gash just above her right eye appeared under the dried blood. Nothing serious then.

Maybe she simply collapsed from chakra exhaustion. Kakashi had heard from Maito Gai, one of the jōnin who had been with the chūunin teams, that the pink-haired medic never once left the hospital since they arrived four days ago.

Sakura was well-known for her endless dedication to the work she did in the hospital, from her kindness towards the patients to her incredible healing skills. It would only be a matter of time before Tsunade stepped down, allowing Sakura to take charge.

That reason alone made him wish she wasn't trying to get into Anbu.

Sakura had everything going for her at the hospital. She didn't need to prove herself to anyone, especially not to him; she was already on top.

Kakashi tucked her long braid back from her neck to check for anymore injuries, but what he saw made his stomach turn. The perfect outline of a hand stood out against the pale flesh of her slender neck.

That all too familiar feeling of white-hot anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach. **That **didn't happen from passing out...

He gazed into her cleaned face, a gloved hand patting her on the cheek in an attempt to bring the kunoichi around. Now that he knew she wasn't sleeping, he needed her to wake up quickly.

"Sakura? Come on now, I need you to wake up." Kakashi had no way of knowing how long she had been laying there, or who it was that had attacked her.

He tugged his hitai-ate up with his free hand, uncovering a closed sharingan eye with the intent to check for a genjutsu when green eyes shot open. Sakura grabbed a fistful of Kakashi's green jōnin flak jacket and flipped him over and onto the coffee table before he had a chance to react.

"You fucking bastard!" She shouted, her fist poised above her head to punch the masked nin in the face. Well this was certainly unexpected. He caught her fist in mid swing, glad the young woman was low on chakra.

"Sakura! Snap out of it!" Her green eyes were wide and unfocused, a clear sign she had no idea who he was in that moment. An angry growl from the back of her throat set Kakashi in motion before she tried to pull away and hit him again.

Releasing her fist, the silver-haired man wrapped his gloved hands around her waist and shoved her up so he could pin her to the sofa.

He narrowly missed an elbow to his jaw as he quickly secured Sakura's most dangerous assets above her head. Kakashi locked her legs with his own, crossed at the ankles to keep her from kicking him.

"Sakura! God dammit, snap out of it! This is Kakashi. You're in my apartment." She pushed forward, trying desperately to get out of the impossible hold he had on her.

Shouting her name once more, Sakura finally went limp. Kakashi let out a sigh he hadn't realized he had been holding in, grateful that she had stopped fighting him. She was still strong without her chakra.

Her green eyes closed briefly before blinking open, clarity replacing the glazed-over look they held.

"Hmm? 'Kashi?" Her voice sounded painfully rough; most likely caused by the angry handprint on her throat.

"Yeah, it's Kakashi. I'm going to let you go now, okay?" Sakura became aware of his hold on her and furrowed her brow, confused as to how she even got there.

The silver-haired Hokage released his hold on the young woman and stood. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly, his mismatched eyes watching as Sakura sat up and glanced around at the room warily.

He couldn't remember if she had ever been to his apartment before. Probably not…

"Where are we? Why am I here?" She looked up at her ex-sensei, a little nervous at the sight of his exposed sharingan… He had his eye closed now to stop the drain in his chakra, but she knew Kakashi only uncovered it when things got serious.

He disappeared through a doorway to the left of the couch for a moment, returning with a tall glass of water for the pink-haired kunoichi. She accepted it gratefully.

"I found you unconscious beneath a tree on my way home from the tower. Can you tell me what happened?" He took a seat in the armchair, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched Sakura drain the glass of its contents.

Glad he didn't need to use his sharingan, he slipped the hitai-ate back over his eye. He was already exhausted enough as it was.

Sakura seemed deep in thought, her face scrunched up in concentration. The hand print on her neck was less red, but dark bruising was slowly taking its place with its ugly colors.

Kakashi resisted the urge to put a comforting hand on her knee. He needed to remind himself that this girl before him was only seventeen; twelve years his junior…

A sarcastic voice inside his head was all too willing to mention that she was a jōnin- she was his equal. Her age didn't matter in their line of work. The beautiful pink-haired was fair game.

Her eyes reopened before he could think on it any further.

"Sasuke attacked me."

Everything that happened came rushing back once she closed her eyes, down to the exact words he had said to her. It made her queasy, and she found herself regretting chugging that glass of water.

Kakashi's half-lidded eye widened at the pinkette's three words. If Sasuke really had attacked Sakura, it meant that the Uchiha was still very unstable. No 'sane' man with a promise that the error of his ways had been realized, attacks an ally with incredibly important companions in the very village that pardoned him.

The sensei in him burned with self-anger at the fact that Sakura had been attacked by the man he chose to teach over her, but the Hokage in him knew that they were now toeing a dangerous line.

"Did he give a reason for the assault?" Sakura sank back into the relatively comfortable couch with a weary sigh, exhaustion sinking into her very soul.

Kakashi could see how tired she was, but they both knew this wasn't something you put off until later. Every fresh detail was critical.

"Well for one, it's because of my disrespect towards his position as a mighty Uchiha. I am pathetic and weak, so I should be groveling at his feet like a dog looking. Also, Naruto punched him... So, naturally, he blames me." She pulled the small hair tie from the end of her long braid and ran her fingers through the pink locks as she spoke.

Though Sakura was certain she would always feel sour towards the silver-haired man for the way he treated her as a genin, Sakura felt strangely comforted by Kakashi's presence before her.

She could see the anger in his lone grey eye; anger he was feeling for something that didn't otherwise concern him. It was almost touching. She didn't have a whole lot of people in her life who would get so angry on her behalf.

The infamous copy-nin was not someone you wanted angry at you.

"I won't lie Sakura, proving that to the council is going to be damned near impossible. Their heads are so far up Sasuke's ass, they could see daylight through his nostrils. They would never want to hear it." Kakashi didn't look at her with pity, which she appreciated beyond belief.

The look he did give her was one of steely resolve, promising silently that what happened was never going to happen again. Those that would disregard their comrades were trash in his eyes.

She felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach at being looked at that by Kakashi. The reminiscent urge to see what was under that mask made her smile suddenly. He had to be so handsome under there…

Appreciation and respect towards herself was not something she saw often, so to see it from someone who was not all that close to her was pleasing to the kunoichi.

"I honestly don't want to bother, Kakashi. Nothing good would come of it, and it's only going to piss him off all over again. I am better off leaving it alone." A sudden yawn had her sitting up to avoid getting too comfortable on the couch.

Kakashi stood with a silent yawn of his own. The small clock on his wall by the door read 2:30.

"Please use my bed for the night, Sakura. It is far too late for you to be walking back across the village, and I just don't trust Sasuke to be watching for you tonight." Green eyes blinked slowly, a little surprised at the offer.

She was a big girl…

As if reading the pink-haired medic's mind, Kakashi chuckled and pulled her to her feet.

"I just mean that your chakra is low and you are very plainly exhausted. It's just one night, and I don't bite." A blush dusted her pretty face when inner Sakura chimed in, exclaiming that she would not mind if he did bite.

Sakura followed Kakashi down the hall and through a door to the left. Just like his living room, the bedroom was very simplistic in its furnishings. White walls, dark wood floors…

A queen-sized bed with black linens stood at the far wall with nightstands on each side. A tall dresser and a bookshelf filled to capacity with over half of the books being Icha-Icha novels stood opposite one another, a door to what she figured was a closet between them.

The whole room just screamed Kakashi.

He left her in the doorway while he dug through the second drawer of the dresser, pulling out one of his long-sleeve jōnin shirts.

"It's big, but it will be more comfortable than what you have on. The bathroom is right across the hall." He made to pass her, but a hand grabbing his forearm made him pause and look down at the shorter ninja.

"You're either letting me sleep on the couch, or you sleep in bed beside me. I'm not about to let your lanky ass sleep on that little couch in your own home." He was honestly too tired to argue, so he agreed to share the bed.

Kakashi slipped out of his clothes while she was in the bathroom, changing into some black sweatpants and a skin-tight, white tee shirt. He was lounging in the bed reading an Icha-Icha novel when Sakura returned.

He needed to take a deep breath and force his attention back on the book. The pink-haired woman looked remarkably attractive in his long shirt over her black shorts.

Sakura slipped into the bed, more than a little self-conscious about sleeping beside her Hokage and ex-sensei. He was, after all, the top Konoha pervert; second only to the legendary sannin, Jiraiya.

A voice inside the dark depths of her mind that sounded suspiciously like Ino whispered nasty words, like how ugly the pinkette was or how no one in their right mind would willingly choose a useless little someone like her.

She would never forgive Ino and her cohorts for destroying her self-confidence as much as they did. They ruined any chance for her to truly love who she was…

With a soft sigh, Sakura slumped down into the warm covers, facing away from the silver-haired man as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Thank you again, Kakashi, Good night." She mumbled, exhaustion already taking over as she buried her head into the dark pillow that smelled so strongly of the man.

Kakashi closed his novel with a soft snap, placing it on the nightstand beside his lamp. He turned his attention to the sleeping young woman, feeling some sort away about the sight of pink hair buried into his black covers.

The circumstances as to her reason for being there were shit, but he was almost glad he asked her to stay the night.

Even in the dim light of the bedside lamp, Kakashi's eye could see the bruised lines from Sasuke's fingers snaked around the side of her neck. It was a sickening sight to him, which said a lot considering the blood and gore he had seen in his own twenty-nine years of life.

He slipped the hitai-ate off, placing it atop the orange book on the bedside table and turned off the light. Darkness swallowed the small bedroom as he slipped beneath the covers and laid down, an arm bent back above his head comfortably.

Kakashi hated change, and he especially hated when life got complicated. Sakura was certainly well on her way towards making his life complicated, but he wasn't so sure he hated it.


	4. Chapter 4

Heyyyy! Back here with chapter 4! It's a bit late, but I chose vacation over my fan fiction haha

Hope everyone is as happy as I am that we are finally swinging into the fall months (Well, at least where I am it is!) I live for cooler weather~

Please enjoy the new chapter!

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Rays of sunshine shone through a large, open window, bathing a bed of black linens and dark woods in their bright tendrils of light. Still in the early fall, the strength of the morning sun warmed the dark blankets comfortably.

The silver-haired occupant of the bed groaned, a bare hand sliding across his closed eyes as he wished desperately that he had remembered to close the curtains before bed.

Hatake Kakashi turned his head away from the window, a dark grey eye slowly blinking the sleep away. A mass of pink hair partially obstructing his line of sight shook the sleepiness away in an instant, faster than the strongest cup of black coffee...

"Hm?" Haruno Sakura, ex-student and jōnin medic, lay just inches from him. She was sleeping peacefully, curled up on her side with pink hair splayed across his black pillows like a covering of fallen Sakura blossoms.

With the grogginess of sleep worn off, Kakashi recalled the events that led up to the young kunoichi asleep in bed beside him. He sat up with a grunt, the blanket pooling at his waist in an inky black puddle.

The copy-nin scratched absentmindedly at the dark Anbu tattoo hidden just above the sleeve of his white tee shirt as he continued to watch the pink-haired medic sleep.

It had certainly been a long time since he last saw someone other than himself asleep in his bed. A pervert, yes, but the infamous masked man found he had little time to act the part.

Being a ninja came first to him; more so these days.

Kakashi ran a hand through his silver hair, finally turning away from the woman in bed to look out the window. He lived on the second to last floor of the six-story building, so not much other than the tops of trees off in the distance could be seen from his spot in bed.

The alarm clock on the bedside table read 8:30; a time he had not woken up to in quite a long time. These days, 6 AM was a late start… The fact that Shizune was not breaking down his door demanding his presence meant she was probably aware of his late night in the office.

Bless that woman's patient soul.

Grabbing the discarded hitai-ate from the table, Kakashi slipped from the warm covers so he could gather some fresh clothes and take a shower.

Staying in that bed any longer would just cause more inappropriate thoughts of his attractive student… ex-student.

Cold shower it was.

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Sakura's green eyes didn't open until almost three in the afternoon. Four days of no sleep coupled with depleted chakra took a big toll on the pink-haired medic.

Every muscle in her body was stiff and painful, feeling more like she had been hit by a hundred of Naruto's kage bushins, all punching at the same time with full strength.

A pained, tired groan escaped past pink lips as she shifted her body within the warm cocoon of blankets.

The first thing the young woman was acutely aware of was the smell that surrounded her. The soft pillow her face was buried in was definitely not her own – it wasn't Naruto's either… He smelled of clear summer days and deep woods.

It was her favorite smell.

This scent was wholly masculine; an earthy, almost spicy scent that she found was vey familiar to her. Sakura simply could not place who the scent belonged to.

Emerald green eyes finally opened, blinking a few times at the bright, afternoon light that streamed through the open window. The room was one-hundred percent unfamiliar to her; a worrying anxiety clawing at her stomach as she took in what she could see laying down.

Sakura had no idea where she was, and how she came to be in that bed. It was a frustrating feeling, not remembering anything prior to waking up.

A hint of orange caught the woman's wandering eyes.

"Kakashi?" He was the first man to come to mind at the sight of that offensive Icha-Icha book. But why would she be in the hokage's home, sleeping in his bed?

With a groan at her protesting muscles, Sakura pushed herself up to a sitting position, frowning when she took note of the large jōnin shirt that was not her own donning her small frame.

She quickly pushed back the dark covers, relieved to see that she was wearing her black shorts at least. Goosebumps erupted along her pale flesh as the cooler air assaulted her warmed legs.

Hands glowing a soft green, Sakura slid her palms along soft skin, working slowly from the joints of her hips to the throbbing muscles in her toned calves. The relief she felt as her muscles lost their tension made her smile softly.

"Good morning sleepy head." Sakura's head shot up, surprised by the sudden voice. She had been so wrapped up in her healing that she didn't notice anyone enter the room.

Kakashi was there, leaned up against the door frame with his arms crossed, watching the pink-haired medic in his bed heal her sore muscles. His grey eye crinkled slightly, indicating that he was smiling softly at her.

"Did something happen, Hokage – er… Kakashi?" The soft voice echoed in his head, his attention distracted by the glowing hands gliding along her long, beautifully smooth legs.

He pushed off the door frame and approached the bed.

"You don't remember anything?" Sakura bit her lip, brows furrowed as her hands moved to the painful headache pounding behind her eyes.

"I was at the hospital, going over some files in my office before I went home... That is the last thing I remember – what happened to me?" The pinkette pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her long arms around them so the silver-haired jōnin could sit down.

An uncomfortable feeling of self-consciousness washed over the kunoichi, and she almost slipped her legs back into the comfortable blankets to hide from the attractive man's gaze.

Kakashi saw the look pass through her green eyes before morphing into one of exhaustion and sadness. The copy-nin could only imagine what she had been through all these years to cause such a look to pass through her youthful green eyes.

"I found you unconscious beneath a tree. You told me Sasuke attacked you." He watched as her hands fell into her lap, green eyes gazing across the room at the closet door as memories from last night flooded back.

"He did, didn't he… So that wasn't a dream." Kakashi didn't stop himself from laying a hand on her knee comfortingly.

"I'm not going to let him touch you again, Sakura. He'll get what's coming to him soon enough." Sakura glanced down at his hand, a little taken aback by his words.

Sakura knew that the taller man meant well, just like Naruto and Sai are with their over-protectiveness for their pink-haired teammate. That did not stop the feeling of being weak wash over her like an acid.

Why didn't anyone just let her take care of herself?

She reached up to her neck, healing the bruises she knew would be there and let out a tired sigh. Kakashi was right, of course. Sasuke was going to get what's coming – Sakura was going to snap the bastard's neck.

"I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself. I'm no use to Anbu if I can't handle a broody little Uchiha. He simply got lucky last night." Kakashi smiled despite himself, patting the young woman's knee a couple times before standing.

There's the determination he knew the young woman had.

The silver-haired man had zero doubts about her abilities as a kunoichi, even if she did. Sakura was, without a doubt, the strongest kunoichi of her generation.

"I never said I doubted you, Sakura. You are infinitely stronger than you think, but that will never change the fact that you do have people who care endlessly for you." He left the woman with that, exiting the room so she could get dressed.

He could feel her pretty green eyes on his back as he left the room, mind whirring as it processed words the young woman never realized she needed so desperately to hear.

Sakura found the silver-haired hokage in his kitchen, two steaming mugs of tea set atop the scrubbed surface of his small kitchen table.

His lone grey eye glued to one of his many icha-icha novels, Kakashi never once looked up at the young medic as she slipped past him to the only other available chair, draping her white doctors coat on the back before sitting down.

Kakashi's kitchen was small; smaller than her own, but it was almost cozy in a minimalist way. It suited him very well, with its white walls and dark cupboards. The entire apartment was exactly what she had always pictured it to be.

Slender fingers wrapped around the heated mug, sighing in appreciation at the warmth that spread through her cold hands. The liquid was at a perfect temperature, and she relished every drop as she drank deeply.

"Naruto came by looking for you. I was, apparently, his last stop, so he was in quite a panic by the time he beat my door in." the silver-haired man didn't need to look up to hear Sakura's emerald green eyes roll in their sockets.

If anyone knew the extent of Naruto's obtuse personality, it was her.

Leave it to that knucklehead to lose his mind over something as trivial as her not being at home… Naruto was so lucky she loved him.

"And I'm sure he quickly accused you of being a pervert for allowing me to stay here?" The sarcasm that dripped from her voice made him chuckle, but she wasn't wrong. He set the orange book down, finally looking across the table at the pinkette.

Sakura still looked tired, but he was pleased to see that there was no longer an angry hand print wrapped around her thin neck. Just the memory of that sight made his stomach turn uncomfortably.

"I simply informed him that I had found you passed out from chakra exhaustion. He left after I assured him I would send you his way the very second you woke up." Naruto physically forced his way through the apartment, refusing to leave until he had seen the young woman with his own blue eyes.

Sakura finished the delicious tea in one gulp and stood, pulling the discarded coat from the back of the chair and draped it over her right arm. A curious grey eye followed her movements as she headed towards the doorway that sat between the kitchen and the living room.

"Thank you for everything, Kakashi. I'll be around tomorrow to bring you the paperwork." She smiled warmly at him and saw herself out before the hokage could say anything more than 'okay'.

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It wasn't hard for Sakura find her favorite blond-haired ninja, especially when the time was anywhere near a mealtime.

Three empty bowls sat beside the young man on the counter of Ichiraku's, a fourth bowl steaming in front of him, ready to be devoured.

Sakura slipped through the curtains, sitting beside the oblivious Naruto as she motioned to Ayame for a bowl of her own. The delicious scent of ramen reminded the pink-haired medic that she had not eaten since her small dinner last night.

She was starving…

Sakura elbowed Naruto in the side, smirking as he nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the fuc- OH!"

His blue eyes brightened at the sight of his best friend and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek in greeting.

"I hear you gave Kakashi a hard time today." She said, pausing briefly to smile at Ayame in thanks for her bowl of ramen before turning her attention back to the blond. He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Kaka-sensei should know better than to think I would take 'she's fine' for an answer. Who knows what perverse fantasies that book of his has with unconscious, pretty pink-haired kunoichi…" He mumbled that last bit into his bowl, having picked it up to suck down the remaining contents.

Sakura rolled her eyes at how ridiculous Naruto sounded. A pervert, yes, but this was Kakashi they were talking about- He was their old sensei after all!

Chewing thoughtfully on a mouthful of noodles, Sakura watched Naruto devour a fifth bowl of ramen as if it was a mere snack. Having not eaten in the past 24 hours, she almost wished she could eat her own bowl just as quickly.

It was strange to her how even ramen could taste gourmet when one was hungry. Sakura would have found some dirt delicious at this point.

"He was our sensei, baka. Do you honestly think the hokage of Konoha would even remotely be interested in his pink-haired ex-student?" Naruto ordered a sixth bowl, stacking the now empty fifth bowl precariously atop the growing tower to his left.

Ichiraku's could survive solely off that man…

Naruto bumped his shoulder against hers, his blue eyes sparkling playfully in the bright lantern lights of the ramen stand.

"Well, this soon-to-be Hokage would certainly be interested in that pink-haired ex-student of Kakashi's!" Sakura's light laughs at Naruto's waggling eyebrows echoed through the otherwise empty stand.

She would forever be grateful to the man before him for keeping a light inside her damaged soul, even in her darkest of moments. Sakura could only hope that their closeness never changed when he became hokage and settled down to the ever-patient Hinata.

Sakura couldn't stand to think of a day that she did not have her beloved knucklehead.

The pair finished their ramen in a companionable silence, Sakura breaking the silence only when he would not allow her to pay for her meal.

Arm-in-arm, Naruto led them through the bustling streets of Konoha back to their apartment building where he bid her goodbye at her door.

The pink-haired jōnin was in desperate need of a shower and some peace and quiet.

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True to her word, Sakura came by the hokage's office with her paperwork for Anbu. It was fairly early in the morning, maybe six-thirty, but Kakashi was already eight feet deep in paperwork at his large desk.

Irritation was clearly evident on the copy-nin's masked face as Sakura approached the cluttered desk. She handed him the papers, a small frown appearing on her lips as he snatched them from her grasp and tossed them into a top drawer to his left.

Her boot-clad feet shifted slightly on the expensive carpet that Sakura fondly remembered Tsunade having shipped in from a small coastal village in water country. She had gone there several times during her apprenticeship with Tsunade and seeing the rug anytime she was in the office brought back those memories of the beautiful village.

She hoped to go back one day and simply relax for the entire duration of her stay. When was her last vacation again?

"Tsunade will be back this afternoon from Suna… I need to send you out on a mission to lightening country, so come back at six and I will have a team pulled together as well as a mission scroll." Kakashi's tone was short, so Sakura merely bowed her head in understanding and ducked from the room quickly.

Sakura spent her entire shift at the hospital praying that Kakashi would put together a good team for this mission – one with member's she was going to get along with. There weren't very many out there, so it was a fool's fantasy.

Team seven wasn't really a thing anymore, with Kakashi being the current hokage and Naruto well on his way to taking over the position.

Sakura, who only re-joined team seven temporarily during the months leading up to Pein's assault, was second-in-command of the hospital, which generally left her out of the team and out of active mission duty.

While being a medic and someone so high in command was something she loved with all her heart and soul, there were certainly times she missed the earlier days on team seven, traveling the world on mission after mission.

Joining Anbu would put her back on the map; a more appropriate usage of her skills out there in the field with those who need her the most. Even if Kakashi ultimately turned her down, Sakura knew Naruto would never tell her no.

She would be ready by then. Sakura was taking herself to the top no matter who or what stood in the way.

With time for a quick shower and a bite to eat, Sakura slipped through the large doors that led to the hokage tower and jogged up the steps to Kakashi's office, nodding absentmindedly at two chunin who passed her on the steps.

"Enter." A familiar feminine voice made Sakura smile, her hand pushing open the office door to the sight of Tsunade leaning against the large desk, arms crossed with a mirrored smile on her own face.

Sakura put up a silent hand in greeting to the copy-nin, who was standing over by the window watching the village move about in the early evening rush. He only nodded to her, looking back out the window as the pink-haired medic approached her old mentor to chat about her trip to Suna while they awaited whomever Kakashi asked for the mission.

"I'll be letting Yumi go. She was by far the most unprofessional little twerp I have ever had the displeasure of training. The excuses that came out of that face, I swear." Tsunade scrubbed a hand over her face, shaking her head as Sakura chuckled.

She couldn't stand that Yumi… If Tsunade hadn't said anything, she would have fired the girl herself.

"But the other four? I know Akito has really been struggling with some of the foreign poisons, even as a doctor. You might remember my charts I handed out a few months back with the most common of poisons and their symptoms, but I still noticed him struggling to memorize my guide." Her green eyes watched Kakashi cross the room to sit behind his desk.

Tsunade sighed tiredly, her hand motioning for the copy nin to pull out some sake she knew he had hidden while she watched the woman she had come to see as a daughter roll her eyes.

Kakashi made an irritated grunting noise but produced said sake and a few cups regardless. He looked up at Sakura to see if she wanted any, but she merely shook her head.

"Akito definitely needs the hands-on approach to learning. That kid is smart as a whip, but I noticed it right away that he picked it up better when I had them down in the Suna labs, studying their local flora and poisons." The busty blond sucked down the cup of sake just as Naruto and Sasuke strode through the door of the office.

They were, unsurprisingly, arguing over something stupid.

"If that's the case, I'll need to create some sort of hands-on training agenda with all of the substances we have on hand. Time for a good ol' boot camp for those idiots." Sakura said, eyeing Sasuke as he shot her a dark look.

Tsunade let out a sharp laugh, ruffling Sakura's head fondly before turning to the desk to pour herself another drink. Yamato strolled in only seconds later, his brown eyes studying each of the rooms occupants quickly before coming to rest on Kakashi.

"Now that you are all here, we can begin." Kakashi pulled some folders from the top of a much larger pile and laid a gloved hand on them.

"I need to send a team out on a B-ranked mission to lightning country to check out some reports of a group of rouge bandits attacking leaf-nin." His grey eye turned to Sasuke, who was standing there with his arms crossed.

"Sasuke, the council has been down my throat about letting you back out into the field." Sasuke smirked smugly, un-crossing his arms so he could stuff his hands into his pockets. It had been too long since he was last outside those village walls, and he was glad those elders were fighting hard for him.

He was an Uchiha, after all. They needed him to be happy…

Sakura fidgeted with a button on one of the pockets of her green jonin vest, not liking where Kakashi was going with this meeting. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears, stomach twisting anxiously at the thought of a mission with the Uchiha.

Kakashi continued, taking note of the pinkette's fidgeting at the furthest point of his peripheral.

"I agreed on the condition that you went with no less than three jonin of my personal choosing. Sakura, Yamato, you will be joining Sasuke and I on this mission." Naruto's mouth instantly opened to object, but snapped it shut audibly when Kakashi held a hand up.

Tsunade pushed herself from the large hokage's desk and came to stand in front of the blond Uzumaki.

"You'll be here with me, brat. I'm giving you some much needed training here in the office while Kakashi is away." In other words, 'You'll do all the paperwork while I sit back and drink sake all day'.

Naruto looked between Sasuke and Sakura, uncomfortable at the thought of his best friend going out on a mission with Sasuke. Having Kakashi and Yamato certainly helped, but it still made him nervous to think of a time where they might be alone.

Sasuke was a dangerous man – especially dangerous to Sakura, and he wasn't even aware of what had happened between the two ninja a few days ago. Had he known, Naruto would have protested until he was blue in the face.

Sakura simply couldn't bring herself to tell the blond; it wasn't his burden to bare. Naruto needed all his focus to be on his dream of hokage, not on his pink-haired best friend.

Naruto crossed his arms with a huff but nodded.

Kakashi tossed each member a mission scroll with all the necessary details pertaining to the B-ranked mission.

Green eyes gazed down at the unassuming, plain scroll, dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't the mission; she had been on too many to count for that to bother her…

How dare Kakashi put her on this team with Sasuke. What the hell was he thinking?

"I'll catch up with you, Naruto. I just need to speak with the hokage for a moment." She said, her gaze locking with Naruto's sparkling blue eyes when they turned to her. Naruto only grinned and followed Yamato and Sasuke out the door, exclaiming his desire for some ramen.

Tsunade stared at the pink-haired medic for a moment, her curiosity piqued by the strange look on the young woman's face. She almost wanted to stick around to see the copy-nin get his ass kicked for whatever reason Sakura had.

Almost.

Her honey eyes glanced back at Kakashi, taking in his outwardly bored appearance as he leaned back in the chair behind his desk while avoiding her gaze. Tsunade knew better; something was up between the pair.

"I will come back before you leave and you can catch me up, Kakashi." With that said, Tsunade turned on a heel and left the pair alone.

Sakura approached the desk, putting her hands flat on the surface so she could lean forward. Only once she had leaned in did Kakashi turn to acknowledge her.

"Care to tell me why I'm being put on this mission?" Her voice was calm, but the underlying edge could cut a man in half.

Without so much as a word, Kakashi pulled the folder containing her application from his desk and tossed it at her hands.

Sakura didn't even blink.

"You want into Anbu, do you not? This is how you get there… You're going to get a lot of unsavory shit handed to you- one hundred times worse than this babysitting mission." A pink brow raised at the silver-haired hokage's sour attitude.

He was obviously just as irritated about Sasuke leaving the village as she was about being on a mission with him. The real question for her was why Kakashi was even going in the first place.

The man was hokage, after all. Surely, he had better things to do than go on a lowly ranked mission to lightning country with the Uchiha in tow.

Kakashi must have read her mind, because her question was answered as he continued to speak.

"Aside from Naruto, I am the only logically sound opponent for the Uchiha, should shit hit the fan. I don't trust him to play nicely on this little field trip from home, and I requested you to come along as my most trusted medic. Consider this the start of you training for Anbu." Sakura blushed lightly at his words about her and straightened up.

She could not fault Kakashi for his logic, but that didn't stop her from being upset about it. Sasuke attacked her in their own village, and now they were going to be many miles away, with only Yamato and Kakashi for company.

It was certainly going to be a challenge for her.

"I understand now, Kakashi. That you for trusting me enough to come along. I won't let what happened between Sasuke and I jeopardize any part of this mission." The scroll crumpled slightly in her tight grip.

A confident smile graced her lips, easing Kakashi's irritation at the whole situation as she bowed and exited the office to go home and pack.

"I know you won't let me down… That's the problem." He slid a glass towards himself and, in a quick motion, slipped his mask down to drink the large cup of sake that had been poured earlier.

Stepping down from this position could not come soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

Oh look, I do still exist! Sorry for the impossibly long delay. One would think being in the midst of a plague, I'd have more time on my hands... Nay nay, being a mom doesn't stop hahahaha

It actually just gets busier and busier! Thank the gods I'm a stay-at-home mom~

ANYWAYS, please enjoy chapter five. Hope everyone is well and managing with this crazy new world we all live in. Stay safe and stay nerdy, y'all.

* * *

Sakura was a bundle of nerves when she bid farewell to Naruto, splitting ways at the front entrance to their apartment building. It was a halfway point between the front gates and the hokage tower, and she had turned down his offer to stand and wait with her.

She didn't deserve that golden-haired knucklehead.

She held a hand up to her eyes, the early morning sun bright in her eyes as she watched the orange-and-black clad jōnin bound away down the street in an excited rush to get started on some training with Tsunade.

Hefting a pack onto her shoulder, Sakura set off for the front gates at a slow pace. Inner-Sakura was quietly listing off the packed items, triple-checking that they had not forgotten a single thing for their first mission in nearly a year.

It felt good to be heading out on a mission, once again clad in her green jōnin flak vest, tight black pants tucked into her heeled boots and a black long-sleeve shirt with a high-neck. Her medic pouch fastened at her hip was the only real indication she was a med-nin.

The mornings were beginning to grow cooler as the days progressed through the fall, so she packed with exactly that in mind. While she enjoyed the cooler air, she did not like being cold.

A couple stray leaves crunched beneath her boot as she strolled along the stone road, a sigh of relief pushing past her lips at being the first to arrive. Sakura nodded politely at one of the chūnin standing guard at the gate, vaguely remembering the slightly older man from the chūnin exams.

_Kotetsu_, Inner Sakura supplied helpfully. The pink-haired medic did not spot Izumo anywhere, which was strange considering they were never seen apart. The village of Konoha was in peaceful times, so maybe there was only need for one guard during the day…

Sakura tossed her pack to the stone and sat beside it, leaning back against the wall so that she could meditate in her last few moments of peace.

The appearance of Sasuke's chaotic chakra signature broke the pinkette from her meditation, but she didn't bother opening her eyes to acknowledge him.

"You sleeping with this hokage too? I cannot fathom there being any other reason for him to want you on this mission, or any mission for that matter. Leave it to you to sleep with your own ex-sensei just to get ahead…" Sasuke's voice was smooth and quiet; a voice that made any other woman melt into a puddle of hormones.

Sakura was NOT that woman… not anymore. Just the mere sound of Sasuke's voice made her skin crawl with a sick unease.

Her green eyes finally opened and looked up at the Uchiha. "Funny, I could ask you the same thing about the elders. You've obviously let enough of them up your ass to let you leave this village."

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, her comment obviously striking a nerve in the otherwise emotionless young man. He tossed his pack to the ground beside hers and crossed his arms tightly across his white shirt-clad chest.

There she goes again, toeing that fucking line. His little scare tactic against the pink-haired medic the other day obviously hadn't worked.

"You need to watch that mouth, Sakura. You have no idea what I'm capable of if you keep it up." He took a step towards the pinkette as she hauled herself up to her feet, ready to stand her ground. Yamato could be seen not too far off in the distance, casually strolling down the main road towards them.

"Don't flatter yourself, Uchiha. You waited until I was running on zero sleep and drained chakra to attack me. I will snap that neck like a fucking twig if you threaten me again. I am NOT afraid of you." She stood at her full height, her green eyes darkened by anger as she stared him down with all the confidence of a strong kunoichi.

Sasuke growled, his fists clenched tightly against his chest but said nothing more as Yamato finally appeared beside the pair. His deep brown eyes glanced quickly between the two, noting the defensive stances and palpable tension hanging thick in the air.

"Alright you two?" Sakura gave Sasuke one last hard look before nodding to Yamato. She spun on a heel and bent down to retrieve her pack.

Sasuke merely 'hnned' and snatched up his own discarded pack, a dark frown still marring his pale face. He needed to make her afraid. No one stood up to him like that, especially not a weak little bitch like her.

Kakashi appeared minutes later, his orange Icha-Icha already clutched delicately in one hand. A grey eye looked over each teammate quickly, lingering just a moment longer on Sakura when she made no bother to acknowledge him.

She seemed flustered, and he wondered if Sasuke had said something to her to get the young woman worked up. He would not put it past the Uchiha to get her riled up for his own amusement.

"Since we are all here, we can get going." With that said, the team of four passed through the gates to begin the two-day trip to lightning country.

The entire day of travel was spent mostly in silence, the group focused on making it as far as they could before night fell. This meant running at top speed for several hours – a tough feat for someone who had not been on a mission in a long while... The exhaustion was real!

Kakashi finally stopped the team at a small clearing not too long before sun set, satisfied with the amount of ground the team of four had covered.

"_Mokuton: Shich__ū__ka no jutsu_!" Yamato said, kneeling to the earth as his hands flipped through the necessary motions to create a basic wooden shelter that would keep the four comfortable and safe for the night.

He then moved around the exterior of the shelter, placing seals on each wall to keep them hidden from view. It wasn't completely necessary, but a good night's sleep without the need of a look out was well worth the extra effort.

The inside was nothing more than an open space with sufficient room for the four to sleep at a distance. Sakura entered almost immediately, tossing her pack down at the back corner and slumping down against the wall. Her body was no longer used to moving at such a fast pace for an extended period of time.

The pink-haired medic couldn't even remember the last time she left the village for a mission…

A quiet groan escaped her lips as she slid her hands from the tops of her thighs to the tips of her toes, pulsing soft green chakra into her sore muscles before they tightened up and caused a problem.

"Can't handle a little running, princess?" Sasuke's sarcastic jab from the opposite end of the shelter broke the young jonin from her concentration. She sneered in his direction, completely ignoring Yamato's entrance.

"So says the lowly chūnin. I saw the struggle on your face in the last hour of our trip. You can't fool these eyes…" The onyx-eyed Uchiha scoffed angrily, an irritated frown marring his pale face.

"You need to have your eyes checked then." Yamato looked from Sakura to Sasuke, watching the young man crouch down and pull out a canteen. He had never really worked with the Uchiha, having only seen him a handful of times- and, of course, heard all the stories from his time with team 7.

"Is there going to be a problem?" Brown eyes turned back to Sakura, but she wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were focused on her hands.

There was a big problem; a HUGE problem that was not going to go away. The only thing she could so was to keep Sasuke at a distance and focus solely on herself and her anbu goal.

Sakura needed this mission to go right; to prove herself to Kakashi.

Said copy-nin entered the shelter then, glancing briefly at the pinkette in the corner as he approached Yamato.

"We will be able to rest comfortably tonight. The area is secure." At Yamato's nod of confirmation, Kakashi turned to Sasuke. His lone eye crinkled ever so slightly with amusement.

"Sasuke, go collect some wood and start a fire." The affronted look the Uchiha shot the copy-nin was everything to Sakura, deciding in that instant that this mission was one-hundred percent worth it.

She had to hide the blossoming smirk with the back of her hand as Sasuke stormed out, unable to say no. Yamato shook his head, following the young man out to keep an eye on him. The council may have trusted the Uchiha, but they would be the only ones. That boy was dangerous…

The space felt far less cramped after the two left, and Sakura found her self taking a deep breath she hadn't known she needed. Sasuke's presence was suffocating to her.

She didn't dare look up at Kakashi; she knew exactly what he was going to say and she didn't want to hear it. Inner-Sakura sighed exasperatingly as the silver-haired Hokage crouched before the pinkette, forcing the jōnin medic to acknowledge him.

Her green eyes locked with his grey eye, stubbornly refusing to back down from whatever negative comments he was about to throw her way. Sakura was not going to let him tear her down, not when she was on her way to becoming anbu.

He nodded his head, gesturing at her legs stretched out on the wooden floor. "You alright?"

Sakura looked down, absentmindedly brushing a bit of dirt from her black pants. They were still sore, but at least she wouldn't cramp up in the middle of the night.

"I'm fine; just a touch sore. Nothing I can't handle, sensei." There was no way some aches and pains were going to affect her on this mission. She was getting into anbu no matter what it took. She needed to prove herself to all those who wanted nothing more than to see her fail.

Kakashi stood from his crouch, pulling a well-loved copy of Icha-Icha from his back pouch as he moved. "Good, lesson one: taking orders like you're a genin again. Go catch some fish for supper and get dinner made up." He cocked his head to the side with what she figured was an 'innocent' smile and vanished to go read his book.

"Jackass…"

* * *

Morning dawned early for the four-man team, leaving to continue their travel for lightning country just after dawn. Sakura stifled a yawn into the crook of her elbow, her green eyes staring ahead at Sasuke's back.

The nerves of being in such a closed space with the Uchiha got the better of her, so sleep was rough.

The pink-haired medic could see Yamato just beyond Sasuke, his soft brown eyes scanning the trees ahead of the group while Kakashi took up the rear. The jōnin was, as was typical of the tall man, reading his Icha-Icha novel as they moved.

Outwardly occupied, Sakura knew better than to assume he was distracted. He was the famous copy-nin after all. He knew exactly what was going on around them at all times.

The forest they were currently traveling through was almost eerily dark, though it was just past mid-day with a cloudless sky: no reason for it to be so dark. A chill ran down the pinkette's spine, goosebumps erupting along her exposed flesh at the uneasy feeling the forest gave her.

It was an overly typical place for a bunch of thugs to hide out in, which was why they were moving slowly through the area. If they didn't find the thugs, the thugs were going to find them.

As the doctor who had taken care of the three chūnin teams, Sakura had a vague understanding of what the ninja were capable of- nothing special. A few of them had sustained some serious injuries, but nothing that had been even remotely life-threatening.

These thugs were likely chūnin level at best; the four of them could handle ninja like that with a hand tied behind their back.

Yamato motioned suddenly for them to jump down from the trees they were traveling in, a relieving sign to the medic. Though she was feeling better than yesterday, that lack of sleep was really starting to seep into her bones.

She landed beside Sasuke silently, her green eyes side-eyeing the Uchiha briefly before turning her full attention to Yamato. She had worked with the man a few times prior to Pein's assault and had been fortunate to fight beside the man during the attack.

The jōnin was up there on the strange scale, right beside Sai, but she fully respected him as both a member of team seven and as a friend.

Kakashi strode past her, siding up to Yamato to talk quietly with him. Sakura shuffled her boot-clad feet in irritation, unhappy about the whispering.

She wasn't a little chūnin anymore like Sasuke was.

That thought made the pink-haired medic pause, her irritation melting into realization: they were more than likely discussing what to do with the Uchiha now that they were at their destination. Like Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato trusted Sasuke just about as much as they trusted a carton of milk left out in the sun for two weeks.

You could ignore all reason; trust the carton of milk and drink it, but boy oh boy are you going to regret it.

Green eyes looked away and studied the dark forest, idly searching for anything useful as she pulled out her water canteen for a long drink. A slight breeze rustled through her pink locks, pushing along through the woods in an almost relaxing way as it rustled through every leaf in its path.

Sasuke's impossibly dark eyes were also on the forest, shifting to study different bushes and trees that rustled in the slight breeze. She could see that his face was blank, not that it ever held any other resting emotion…

Sakura just hoped that the Uchiha was done going after her while they were out here. They were here for this mission and nothing else.

A throat being cleared startled the pinkette from her quiet thoughts and turned her attention to where Kakashi and Yamato stood. Sakura never noticed that the two stood at the same height…

Her gloved hand pulled a red apple from the pouch secured at her waist as the pair stepped forward to join the younger two members of the team. She could not think when she was hungry. Now was as good a time as any to enjoy a snack.

"According to Gai, the teams of chūnin were in this approximate area when they encountered the rogue ninja. With at least 8 confirmed rogues, you can imagine we will have our hands full once we locate them." Kakashi decidedly ignored the look of irritation that passed across the Uchiha's face at the mention of having their hands full.

"I'd prefer that we take them all into custody alive," he continued, this time directing a knowing look at Sasuke, who merely crossed his arms. "but I will leave each of you to make your best judgement." Sakura chanced a look at Sasuke, unsurprised to see that he was angry.

"So, are we just going to sit here and wait for them?" Sasuke asked, his deep voice giving the medic goosebumps. She looked up from her apple then, curious to see what they had decided on as the plan of action.

Inner Sakura grumbled at Kakashi and Yamato having left them out of the huddle. While Sakura agreed with her inner, she knew getting bent out of shape was going to do no good. More important things were at hand.

The quicker they ended this mission, the quicker she could put distance between herself and Sasuke.

"Actually, yes. We are going to set up camp right here." The smile on Yamato's face unnerved her, looking more like a masochist than a friendly teammate. It was clear Yamato was as done with Sasuke's shit attitude as she was.

Sasuke 'tsked' loudly. "We should be out there hunting them down like the worthless animals they are." He gestured a hand at the dark woods, his equally dark eyes staring the jōnin down. Yamato only stared back, unaffected by the young mans challenge at authority.

Sakura threw her apple core off into the woods carelessly.

"Wrong, Sasuke. Doing that puts us in their territory; it gives them the advantage. We **never **let an enemy nin get the upper hand, not when we have the opportunity and the time to keep the advantage on our side." She couldn't help the prideful smile that split her face when Yamato nodded and Kakashi waved a pointed hand in her direction, wordlessly motioning for Sasuke to heed his pink-haired teammates' words.

Very good, Sakura. Never let the enemy gain the upper hand. Only foolish, brash with a death wish ninja go looking for a fight." The Uchiha sneered at the medic, clearly agitated by her words.

She returned the sneer with a sarcastic wink, uncaring of the fallout that would undoubtedly occur. Now all of his anger was going to be her fault, but she didn't care in that moment.

Sasuke wasn't going to touch her again; especially with both Kakashi and Yamato close by.

With a nod to Kakashi, Sakura set off a few yards into the woods to take care of some business while Yamato erected another simple shelter for the four of them to sleep in that night.

* * *

Perched atop a large limb near the top of one of the tall trees that circled the camp, Sakura sat quietly meditating as the cool breeze from the north slipped comfortably along her exposed flesh.

She was never one for hot weather, preferring to enjoy the cooler days and dewy summer mornings as much as possible. There weren't a whole lot of those days back in Konoha, living in fire country and all; but Sakura made it work.

The forest seemed far less oppressive from above, hence her choice to sit so high to meditate in peace.

Pink hair swayed gently against her back as she and her inner ran through every injury the chūnin sustained, trying to determine if there was anything new that stood out to them since treating all the injuries last week.

She could recall two having severe burns, hinting to a possible fire jutsu; and there were three that sustained deep, straight cuts made by a weapon far sharper and longer than a kunai.

"One of the rogues wields a katana." She said aloud, feeling the familiar presence appear on the branch beside her. She didn't need her eyes to know when Kakashi was near.

The large limb groaned quietly as the second occupant sat down, 'hmming' lightly at the kunoichi's words. He had read her files before the mission, pouring through her meticulous notes on all the injuries she had found and healed.

He too had come to that conclusion and found it impressive to see her working to the same conclusion with her quiet meditation.

"A sloppy one at that. I read through your notes… It seems to me like the rogue nin was just swinging carelessly, hoping to make a hit. He may be a novice, but the strength behind those swings is what will make him dangerous." He looked over to the pink-haired medic just as her eyes opened, his heart disobeying him by skipping a beat.

The way the forest reflected in her green eyes was a sight he never knew he wanted to see. When did his student grow up?

Sakura smiled lightly, feeling a little self-conscious at the intensity in which Kakashi's grey eye watched her. Did she have something on her face?

"I'm sure he will be someone Sasuke will have no problems handling. I've seen him in action with his sword and I will admit he is good… dangerously good." As if to prove her point, said Uchiha threw a handful of kunai at a tree, all four expertly hitting their intended mark.

The twisted smirk on his lips led her to believe he knew that she had been watching him and she turned away just as his dark eyes looked up to where she sat. Her long fingers dug into the bark of the limb, uncomfortable at the Uchiha's attention.

"Excellent, I'll be leaving you to take the first watch." Her head swiveled around to give the jōnin a sour look, her upper lip curled with a playful irritation. Kakashi chuckled lightly.

He held a hand up in greeting when Yamato appeared at the entrance to the shelter and looked up at the pair sitting high up in the tree.

"Sneer all you want, Sakura; you're our bait!" Sakura ran a hand through her pink hair, expecting him to say that. Out of the four, she was the logical choice to draw a bunch of dirty rogues out of the forest.

"Yes, because there is nothing more terrifying than a pink-haired medic." Kakashi plucked some pink hair from the young woman's shoulder and let it slip through his fingers like a silken ribbon.

"The beautiful ones are always the most dangerous…" He regretted the words as soon as they left his masked lips. Standing quickly, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was left wide-eyed and scrambling to keep from falling off the tree limb.

Inner Sakura cackled with delight at the situation they had found themselves in. The great and powerful copy-nin of Konoha, running away from a woman.

Kakashi re-appeared at the fire that burned brightly just a few yards from the shelter and collapsed onto a stump beside Yamato with a heavy sigh.

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

* * *

Until next time, my nerds! Take care!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone! Once again, I hope this chapter finds everyone healthy and safe! Where I live, the winter is already fast approaching, so it's time to further hermit down and ride out the cold and the snow in peace~

Take care of yourself and enjoy chapter 6!

* * *

The silence that enveloped the wooden shelter after darkness had fallen was not one of peace and tranquility, as Sakura knew nighttime brought in the fire country; but rather like a calm before the storm kind of silence.

The gentle breeze had disappeared, leaving an almost suffocating stillness to the air. There were no end-of-summer bugs chirping into the stillness, no animals moving stealthily through the bushes for their nighttime hunt… nothing. It was really quite unnerving to the pink-haired medic.

Bright red sparks shot up into the cool air as the kunoichi, huddled close to the fire for warmth, tossed a couple fresh logs into its circular pit. Sakura's three teammates had gone to bed several hours ago, leaving her to play her role of the helpless bait.

She was sure Sasuke was getting a thorough kick out of her being helpless… Not that he thought she was anything else, of course. Sakura was nothing in that mans eyes.

"Of all the times to have forgotten my jacket." Her quiet words seemed to echo endlessly among the tall trees like haunting whispers from the beyond. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, desperate for a bit of warmth. The long-sleeve she assumed was enough for this late summer air was doing nothing for her.

The growing flames in the stone fire pit did little to warm her; the chill in the air far stronger than the heat of the flames. Sakura leaned closer, holding her open hands as close to the flames as she could safely do so without getting burned.

This forest was something else… Or maybe it was her anxious mind causing the relentless chills. It had been too long since she had been out in the field; something she hoped would be remedied with the success of this mission.

The pinkette tossed another two logs into the flames, not caring if the large flames gave away her position- She was tired of waiting for these shitty rogues to show themselves. If she was being honest, Sakura wasn't even sure they were out there.

Even her inner had abandoned her an hour ago, leaving the medic well and fully alone.

"I am fully going to regret this later..." She mumbled, slipping her hand into the pack that sat against the stump to pull out yet another soldier pill.

These weren't your run-of-the-mill, generic soldier pills other ninja had on hand. When it came to Sakura, she never settled for basic or mediocrity.

One of the first things Sakura achieved under Tsunade's tutelage, aside from learning how to become a badass medic, was to concoct a more effective soldier pill that could be taken out in the field without all the irritating side effects the other pill had.

While hers still had the twitchy, caffeine-like effect that kicked in hours past its dissolution in the body; the soldier pill she had crafted had a much longer, slow-release affect that kept you awake much more efficiently. Aside from the ability to keep oneself awake, it also sped up chakra restoration twelve percent faster than the generic pill, making it far more useful for medics such as herself working out in the field.

Of course it wasn't a huge increase, but when you needed chakra as badly as she did, you take what you can get.

Sakura guessed it was nearing four AM when she finally picked up on some faint movement off to her right. To the untrained ear, it was just an animal passing through in search of its next meal; but she was no untrained girl.

Playing her 'weak female' part, Sakura forced herself not to react to the noises. Whoever was out there didn't bother masking chakra, so she was able to tell how many of them were out there – six, assuming there wasn't any masking their presence.

Inner Sakura was also back, assessing the six chakra signatures while Sakura's green eyes gazed into the hot flames. They weren't finding anything overly impressive, which certainly eased Sakura's nerves a bit.

As the unknown nin moved closer, Sakura noted that she couldn't feel any sign of her teammates from inside the shelter. She assumed they too had felt the unknown chakra signatures and were up and waiting just as she was.

"Well well, what do we have here? What's a pretty little thing like you doing all alone out here?" A deep, cold voice cut though the silent like a sharp knife. Sakura forced herself to jump as if she had been frightened by the sudden appearance of the men.

Six ninja in plain, black garb and black wrapped vests appeared in the fire light then, the man she assumed had spoken standing just in front of the other five rogues. She could just make out slash marks through hitai-ate's wrapped on each left bicep, so she knew these were the guys they were waiting for.

Finally!

"K-kumo nin?" She felt absolutely ridiculous right now, cowering in fear when she could be putting her fist through some faces.

The leader stepped forward again, tying his white hair into a low ponytail at his nape. The humorless laugh that followed her words sent chills down her spine.

"We hold no allegiance to that shithole and its raikage! Now answer my fuckin' question, girly. Whatcha doing out here?" Her nails dug painfully into the bark of the log she sat upon, her anger boiling inside her chest.

"I-I'm a traveling m-medic, searching f-for some plants to a-add to my supply…" Sakura's green eyes stared unblinkingly at the white-haired nin, silently sizing him up as he considered her response.

He finally waved a hand, motioning to the two men at his right to go check out the shelter that stood behind the medic.

"I really don't know why you would go in there," She said loudly, "I have nothing of value to ninja like you…" A barking laugh like a hyena echoed loudly through the forest; an impossibly loud sound to her ears.

He came around the fire and knelt down in front of her, his sick grin widening at the sneer that twisted upon her lips. He was going to be the first to go, she was going to make sure of that.

She saw his mouth open to speak, but the sound of his two men being thrown back through the door of the shelter took what he was about to say from his mouth.

"What the fuck?!" They were dead before they hit the ground – even in the dim firelight, he could see that they were dead.

It was Sakura's turn to chuckle, her tense posture relaxing into one of a seasoned ninja without a worry in the world. The air of nervousness was gone, replaced with a much more powerful confidence.

"I told you there was nothing of value to someone like you. Never once did you ask me if I was alone." Kakashi, Yamato and Sasuke appeared then, their forms becoming more visible as they approached the fire to stand behind their pink-haired teammate.

The surprise on the white-haired rogues face quickly morphed into that of fury.

"You fuckin' bitch!" His hand shot out to strike her but Kakashi was in front of her in a flash, holding the rogue's hand tightly in his grasp. Sakura's green eyes blinked rapidly at Kakashi's sudden appearance. She had wanted a reason to hit back…

Sakura kept her mouth shut; there were more important things to worry about. She quickly got to her feet and moved back to stand beside Yamato, slipping her gloves on as she moved.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a woman?" Kakashi's voice was calm as he gripped the man's wrist tighter before tossing him across the fire towards his waiting men. The rouge landed on his feet, his hand reaching back into his pouch as he stood to his full height.

"I 'spose not. Then again, my father slit her throat when I was six, so she was never around to teach me right from wrong!" Kakashi jumped back as an exploding tag embedded itself into the ground where he stood.

"Four on four; what an even fight." Yamato said, his brown eyes watching the rogues from across the brightly burning fire.

"If you surrender to us now, you will get to keep your lives." Kakashi's smooth voice carried effortlessly across the empty space between the two groups. They'd certainly keep their lives, but they would be spent deep below Konoha in small prison cells built just for trash like them.

Predictably, the white-haired leader laughed loudly; a barking sort of laugh that sounded more than a little mentally unbalanced.

"Fuck off! We all know how this ends: with your lifeless bodies shipped back to your shithole village!" Sakura rolled her eyes but shifted into a defensive stance when she saw Yamato pull some kunai from his back pouch.

"Pity they didn't recognize Kakashi… I really do hate killing people." Sakura said quietly, and it was the truth. She wasn't one of the top medics for nothing- killing went against everything she worked so hard to achieve.

She heard Sasuke scoff from the other side of Yamato, but he thankfully kept his mouth shut. His sharingan was activated, glowing eerily in the darkness. A mistake, in Sakura's opinion.

She saw the rogue's attention shift to Sasuke, as she had expected. They had an Uchiha on their team.

"I thought you looked familiar, Copy-nin!" The leader called out, his attention returning to Kakashi. "That little Uchiha jogged my memory. This is going to make killing you that much more enjoyable!" On that final word, the four rogues dashed forward to attack.

Sakura's green eyes were on her opponent in a flash, blocking the kunai he had clutched in his left hand.

This rogue was as plain as they came: a completely forgettable face with black hair and cold brown eyes. He looked just like every other worthless rogue nin she had faced in her ninja career. Funny how they always looked the same...

Sakura blocked a forward punch with her forearm, lightly surprised by the strength behind the punch. It had actually hurt to block… She was stronger, however, as her counter-attack sent the nin skidding across the dirt before slamming into the trunk of a nearby tree.

She looked momentarily at Kakashi, who was locked in a very one-sided fight with the leader of the rogue gang. Personally, she thought he looked remarkably bored; probably seconds away from pulling out his Icha-Icha novel just to get a better rise out of his opponent.

"Shame on you pinky! You should pay better attention to your opponent!" Sakura probably could have rolled her eyes at his statement, but instead grinned almost maniacally as the rogue charged her, his gloved fist aimed for the side of her face.

Without so much as a flinch, her green eyes locked on the nin's brown eyes as she caught his fist.

"Shame on you for not being a better ninja." His eyes widened to an almost impossible size, mouth twisting with agony as his fist crushed in Sakura's grasp. The sound was sickening.

With her free hand, she grabbed the back of the nin's head and slammed her knee square into his face, effectively knocking him out.

"That was no fun…" She mumbled, dropping the rogue to the ground without a second thought. She toed him with her boot, watching for any sort of movement. Satisfied, he hauled the man to a sitting position and dragged him up to the nearest tree.

Blood poured from his mouth and nose like a gory river, but she couldn't have cared less- Her medic training didn't extend to idiots. She tied him tightly to the trunk and stood quickly. So much for being a badass rogue…

"You just sit there and sleep." She said sarcastically and turned away to see how her teammates were doing.

Yamato had already finished his opponent, having locked the man inside a wooden cage just barely larger than the man himself. He was conscious, and the insults he hurled at Yamato were almost laugh-worthy.

She couldn't believe these idiots thought they were going to kill the Konoha hokage and his team… What a delusion.

Daybreak was just beginning to show itself at this point; the early morning fog creeping through the trees like a silent, constant exhale. It would have been a beautiful sight had they not been engaged in combat.

Sasuke's opponent slid past her then, a thick trail of dust following after. She looked up at the Uchiha as he stood several yards away with a sick grin on his face. The expression on his face made her stomach turn.

She did a 180, spinning on her heel to see where his opponent had landed so she could quell her uneasy feeling. Sasuke was enjoying this fight way too much. She wouldn't be surprised to find that the rogue he had been fighting was dead.

Sasuke appeared at her side as the nin rose onto unsteady feet, blood dripping down the side of his face at a deadly rate. While surprised to see that he was still alive, she knew he would not be for much longer.

A kunai was deeply embedded in the shoulder, but the nin either didn't notice, or did not care that it was there.

"You should have stayed down." Sasuke called out, but the rogue merely laughed. She wondered if Sasuke's opponent knew just how close to death he really was…

"Not until you are dead, leaf trash!" In that moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Sakura. She vaguely heard someone shout her name, but her reaction was not quick enough.

Both Sasuke and his opponent fired off their own jutsu; only Sasuke's hit first. This, in turn, caused the enemy nin's jutsu to miss its mark and instead hit Sakura dead on.

The dark-haired chūnin watched with sick, twisted satisfaction as the pinkette and his opponent both crumpled to the ground simultaneously. The sudden silence that fell upon the open field was almost deafening in that moment.

Sure, he had not planned for Sakura to get in the way, but this just killed two birds with one stone. It was the best day he had seen in a long time. Sasuke knew he was going to sleep so well that night, knowing his Sakura problem was now finished.

Served the bitch right for thinking she could make it in this big boy world.

Sasuke spared no glance at his ex-sensei, who had appeared at Sakura's side only milliseconds after she had collapsed. Yamato could be heard in the background, having taken the copy-nin's place in battle quickly to engage the leader nin in Kakashi's stead.

He strolled over to what was left of his opponent, a malicious grin on his pale face at the sight of the obviously dead nin. Melted strips of flesh hung off of his burned body, rendering the man completely unrecognizable and unidentifiable.

The blood that pooled around the body re-awakened the thrill of the fight. Oh, how he missed this raw power flowing through his veins. It was delicious, intoxicating, beautiful…

"…ke!... Sasuke! … SASUKE!" His red eyes snapped to Kakashi, eyes fading back to their onyx black color as the rush quickly wore off and reality came back into focus.

The copy-nin was knelt beside their medic, a large gauze pad pressed tightly to the upper half of her face. So, she was still alive then… What a pity.

"Go help Yamato round up those three rogues so they can be transported back to Konoha. I need to get Sakura out of here now." Sasuke wanted nothing more than to sneer at the jōnin but chose instead to nod and make his way over to Yamato.

Getting into it with the hokage while his freedom was still in its fragile state would do him no good. Sasuke **needed **to be cleared to get back out into active duty.

Kakashi frowned as he watched the Uchiha's retreating back – he had seen the conflicted irritation in his eyes. That boy was serious trouble. He never once tried to get Sakura out of the way or make a move to help her once she had collapsed; and that look in his eyes… With great power came insanity, it seemed.

Kakashi shifted his position beside Sakura, both of his eyes studying the unconscious jōnin with increasing worry. He had been focused on his own opponent, so he had not seen what hand signs the rogue nin had performed, so there was no way of knowing just what hit the young medic.

The enemy nin knew that Sasuke was an Uchiha, so Kakashi could only assume that the attack was meant to damage the Sharingan. An Uchiha was absolutely nothing without their prized kekkei genkai…

He pulled back the now blood-soaked gauze, his heart clenching all too painfully in his chest at the sight of her damaged face. What was once pretty, smooth white skin was now a mess of deep cuts and nasty burns. It looked as if she had been attacked by a flurry of flaming kunai.

It was bad. If Tsunade isn't able fix the damage to her face and her eyes… He didn't even want to think about it. Everything the pink-haired medic had worked so hard for was now on the line.

He quickly pressed a fresh pad of gauze to Sakura's face, securing it with some rolled bandage Sakura had in her medic bag. Kakashi was grateful that the young woman was at least unconscious.

"Is she okay?" Yamato's worried voice broke the copy-nin from his tense thoughts. He had finished securing the rogues inside one of his wooden cages and left Sasuke to watch them for the moment.

Kakashi stood up, gathering the pinkette into his arms as gently as he could. If she woke, the pain would be unbearable.

"No, she isn't. We need to get her back to Konoha quickly. Can you and Sasuke get those three back to the village? I can get Sakura back much quicker if I travel on my own." Yamato nodded; his brown eyes unable to look away from the bandages that Kakashi had wrapped around team sevens only female member.

They weren't terribly close, but Yamato always found he had a soft spot for the young woman. She was kind, with a generous heart and fists of steel. She had the world in her hands, only for it to be ripped away with one off course jutsu.

"Be safe and keep both eyes on Sasuke. He is too dangerous…" Yamato glanced over at the Uchiha, who was standing near the caged nin with a dark scowl on his face.

"I do not anticipate trouble. Someone like him craves freedom; he isn't going to ruin that now when he is so close to his full pardon." Right or not, Kakashi still didn't trust the Uchiha's stability. If it weren't for Sakura's dire state, he would be watching Sasuke with intense scrutiny.

Sasuke was an impossibly strong ninja who would not be stopped by just one man should he decide to jump ship.

"Take care then. I will see you as soon as you arrive back in Konoha." With a nod, Kakashi was gone, dashing away towards their village with all the speed he could muster. It was going to be a test of will to get her back as quickly as possible… Kakashi hoped they made it in time.

"You don't quit on me, okay? You are going to be just fine Sakura. I promise."

He just hoped he wasn't wrong.

* * *

Until next time!


End file.
